












4 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 


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THE 


POWER OF AN EYE 


'MRS. FRANK ST. CLAIR GRIMWOOd” 

/\ — i> 

AUTHOR OF 

“MY THREE YEARS IN MANIPUR.” 




NEW YORK 


\ 


" -r -"t T 

V oorraro .i Hr 

JUN 9 t8C2 



UNITED STATES BOOK COMPANY 


5 AND 7 East Sixteenth Street 


Chicago: 266 & 268 Wabash Avk. 



-p'Z.t 


' Copyright, 1892, 

BY 

UNITED STATES BOOK COMPANY 


[A// rights reserved^ 


Tlie Power of an Eye. 


CHAPTER I. 

It was a terrible niglit; there could be no 
doubt of that. The gathering storm of the 
past few days had burst at last, and was 
working its wicked will upon anybody or 
anything endeavoring to make a stand against 
its fury. The wind howled and shrieked like 
some wild spirit in torment, and the rain 
l)eat against the windows of a small house 
in Kensington as though enraged at its own 
inability to force an entrance. 

Pleasantly warm and cozy did one room in 
that house look, contrasted with the wild 
night outside. The gleam of the firelight 
cast quaint, dancing shadow's on the w'alls, 


6 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


and illuminated the face of a girl sitting 
curled up on the hearth-rug. 

She was the only occupant of the room, 
and she was rocking herself backward and 
forward, with her arms round her knees, in 
an exceedingly ungraceful but very comfor- 
table attitude if one could judge from her 
expression. 

Not a pretty girl, by any means; in fact, 
many people would have called her j)lain. 
Long, thin, and angular, looking as though 
she had run through her small stock of 
strength already, with a pale complexion and 
thin face, Dorothy Yilliers was certainly not 
a beauty. But she possessed three attri- 
butes which go toward making a beautiful 
whole : glorious e3n3S, a well-shaped head, and 
a quantity of copper-colored hair— the sort 
of hair that always will curl and twist about, 
whatever you do to it. 

Not that she had taken any pains to do it 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


7 


up in a fantastic or elegant manner — oli, dear, 
no! Dorothy cared about as much for her 
personal appearance as any street-arab might, 
and, except that she was scrupulously careful 
that her hands were always clean, and would 
sooner have died than possess a dirty face, it 
mattered not one whit to her whether her 
dress were becoming or her figure elegant. 
She had marvellous eyes, eyes that looked 
blue in some lights, and gray in others, and 
at night seemed almost black. Very serious 
eyes they were, too, with an expression in 
them at times that set you wondering what 
sort of a life the girl could have led to bring 
it there. Had she been a middle-aged woman, 
hampered with the cares of life which fall to 
the lot of most by the time they are thirty, 
one would liave thought her expression sin- 
gularly serious and grave. But on the face 
of a girl of sixteen it looked strangely out 
of place. 


8 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


The room she was sitting in was not large, 
and the furniture was somewhat scanty. 
Folding-doors at one end gave you to under- 
stand that another apartment adjoined. 

Presentlj" the girl’s reflections were inter- 
rupted by a Aveak voice calling from AA ithin: 

“Dorothy! Dorotlij^l Where are you? 
Where haAm you gone? ” 

She rose from her position near the fire 
with a Aveary sigh, shook back the heavy hair 
from her broAv, and proceeded to the other 
room. 

She had scarcely opened the door betAveen 
Avhen the same A'oice addressed her again: 

“ It is so strange, Dorothy, that you never 
can stay Avith me. You are Avith me so little 
and are always so ready to go olT and amuse 
yourself and leave me alone.” 

The voice came from a woman lying in 
bed, and the tones Avere Aveak and querulous, 
and exceedingly disagreeable. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


9 


“ I am Sony, mother,” the child said wea- 
rily, “ very sorry, but really I have only been 
in the other room for ten minutes, and I 
thought the nurse was with you; she was 
here when I left your room. My head has 
been aching all day, and I thought if I could 
get away for ever such a little time into a dif- 
ferent atmosi:)here it might get better. So as 
you were sleeping, I went. But I am very 
sorry.” 

“ No, Dorothy. I was not asleep,” inter- 
rupted the invalid. “ You are always so 
ready to accuse me of sleeping, and 1 never 
sleep. You Jcnoio I never sleep.” 

“ Never mind, darling,” replied the girl, “ it 
was my fault and I made a mistake. I am 
always so foolish — am I not? — and you must 
forgive me. Let me change that bandage 
again for you.” 

So saying, she aj^proached the bedside, and 
tenderly supporting her mother with one 


10 THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

arm, slie gently removed the bandage which 
covered the invalid’s eyes. As she did so 
the sick woman opened them, and turned her 
head from side to side as ii‘ the dim light 
from one shaded lamp in the corner of the 
room were hurting her eyes. They were 
large and gray like her daughter’s, but the 
expression in them had gone, leaving only 
the blank, vacant look peculiar to blind peo- 
ple. For Mrs. Villiers was blind. As a girl, 
her sight had been weak, and long residence 
in India had not made it stronger. When 
illness and trouble came, her nerves became 
affected, and in their turn acted ui:>on her 
eyes to such an extent that, from having had 
mere weak sight, the poor woman soon be- 
came totally blind. 

There are many women in this world who 
bear misfortune of all kinds with such won- 
derful patience that one marvels where they 
get the courage and strength to live out their 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


11 


sad lives without a murmur. Day by day 
they bear their burdens, and teach us the les- 
son of patient submission and obedience to 
the Higher Power, who has allowed their 
affliction. 

But Dorothy’s mother was not one of these. 
Accustomed to exercise her own will and 
pleasure in everything, she writhed under 
the calamity which had overtaken her, and 
reft from her the power to follow out her 
own inclinations. She could not take her 
trouble bravely and learn from its sad teach- 
ing at least to be more thoughtful for others 
and more grateful for all that was done for 
her. She fretted all day long, and she led 
her daughter the life of a slave. 

And Dorothy, in her wonderful unques- 
tioning loj-alty to the woman whom she 
called mother, never denied her anything 
which was in her power to grant. From the 
time she was eleven years old until the pres- 


12 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


ent, slie had sacrificed her life, her own will 
and pleasure, and her youth to her mother, 
and without any other reward than the ap*. 
proval of her own conscience. 

For her mother never thanked her for the 
sacrifices she made every hour of the da5^ 
At an age when most young girls are acquir- 
ing knowledge and enjoying happy experi- 
ences, surrounded by friends of their own 
ages and tastes, Dorothy was leading a cheer- 
less, gray existence, without a single com- 
panion or one congenial occvq)ation. Poor 
child! She had become a woman in thought 
and feeling before she had ceased to be a 
child in years and appearance, and at sixteen 
she could have passed a verdict on life in 
general which would have astonished many 
a woman of mature years. But whatever 
had been and still was her lot in life, the girl 
was growing up to be a good woman — one 
who would place self ill ways in the back- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


13 


ground, and who would take up her duties 
as they should come to her, bravely and 
honestly, however unideasant they might 
be, and make her little corner in the world 
the better for having known her inhuence. 
Such women are rare, but they exist for all 
that. 

Tenderly the girl replaced the bandage on 
the sick woman’s eyes, and then began brush- 
ing out her thin hair, until, soothed by the 
lu’ocess, her mother dropped asleej) again, 
and the girl was once more left to her own 
reflections. 

In a few minutes the nurse came in and 
began to settle the room for the night, mov- 
ing about so gently that her i)resence in the 
sick-room could scarcely have been detected. 

When she had finished, she beckoned 
Dorothy with her finger from her i)ost by 
the side of the bed, and on tiptoe the two 
crept from the room, carefully closing the 


14 


THE POWER OF AN EYE 


folding-doors between for fear that even 
their hushed whispers might awaken the 
invalid. 

The nurse was not a young woman, and she 
had seen more sorrow and suffering in her 
life than many whose vocation it is to attend 
upon the sick and afflicted. And in the good 
woman’s heart had sprung uj) a warm affec- 
tion for the girl who had given uj) her time 
so willingly for years to the sick mother, and 
who was always so sweet-tempered and un- 
selffsh through it all. 

She drew Dorothy near to her as they sat 
down by the lire, and the girl resi)onded by 
tin-owing her arms round the good woman 
and kissing her. 

“My dear,” said Sister Gertrude, as she 
was called, “ you will lose all your good looks 
if you don’t take care of yourself. I know 
you have not been outside this house for a 
week, and the next thing will be that you 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


15 


will get ill yourself, and I shall have two 
l^atients to nurse instead of one.” 

“ Oh, no, you won’t,” rexhied Dorothy, “ I 
am so very strong. Besides, I have no heart 
to go out while mother is so ill. Tell me, do 
you think she is worse to-night? She seems 
so terribly weak, and her face is so thin. O 
Sister Gertrude, tell me, do you think it is 
only my imagination? You don’t think she 
will die, do you? My heart aches if I even 
think of losing her, and I should miss her 
so! You see, I am not like other girls, with 
a father and brothers and sisters to make 
ux) for things. What should I do if any- 
thing were to liax^x^en to mother? Do tell 
me you don’t think she is Avorse to-night.” 

The sister shook her head. How could 
she tell the girl, in answer to her x^iteous 
pleading, the verdict of the two great x^hy- 
sicians avIio had been summoned by the local 
doctor to pronounce ux^on the case? 


16 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“ She may live a month with care,” they 
had said, “ but it is more than probable that 
she will not last out another ten days.” 

Sister Gertrude was silent, but at length, 
in answer to the reiterated question, she said : 
“ My dear, it is in the good God’s hands, and 
if he has need of your mother, it is not for 
his child to conqdain. Rather should we 
be thankful that he has seen lit in his great 
mercy to spare her all the pain and sulfer- 
ing which would be her lot should she live 
through future years.” 

But the girl made no response. Her heart 
was full of i)ain at the thought of all that 
the sister’s words implied, and great tears 
filled her eyes. Poor child! Her life had 
been a very joyless one, and her mother had 
never sought to make it bright, as a young 
life ought to be; but Dorothy had no other 
ties, and the sick woman had grown to be 
part of her very existence. She dreaded 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


17 


witli an unknown horror the loneliness that 
must follow if her mother were taken from 
her. 

Of her father she knew nothing. She 
could remember nothing of him, and believed 
that he had died when she was little more 
than a baby. Once she had asked her mother 
to tell her about her father, but the answer 
she received frightened her to such an extent 
that she never dared touch on the subject 
again. “ He is dead,” said her mother, “ dead 
to the world, and dead to me. Never speak 
of him unless you wish me to send you away 
from me and never to see my face again.” 

And tlie child had never forgotten; but 

often in her firelight musings slie had thought 

of her father and wondered why she might 

not love him as other girls loved their fathers, 

even if he were dead. As they sat on by the 

fire, those two, the old reflections came across 

the girl’s mind, as she tried to imagine what 
2 


18 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


it would all mean for her if her mother died 
—and in the woman’s heart was a great pity 
for the girl by her side, so young and so 
friendless, in a great heartless world where 
all is scurry and bustle, and the weak and 
lonely forever go to the wall, because they 
are not sufficiently heartless and selfish to 
seize whatever comes in their path and liold 
on to it at all costs. 

At length the clock on the mantelpiece 
struck eleven, and the sister got up out of 
her chair to resume her watch in the sick- 
room. 

“ You must go to bed, my child,” she said, 
“ Try and forget all your sorrow, and do not 
anticiimte trouble. It will not make it easier 
to bear when it does come, if you exhaust 
the strength ,to meet it bravely before- 
hand.” 

“ I will try not to think of it,” said Doro- 
thy, “ but it is so very hard— mayn’t I sit up, 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


19 


too, with her to-night? I am not really tired, 
and it could not hurt me; I could get a book 
and read all the time, too.” 

“ No, my dear,” replied the nurse. “ I am 
going to send you to bed at once, because 
you want rest and slee}), so run away, and in 
a little time I will come and peep into your 
room to see that you are all right.” 

So Dorothy went into her mother’s room 
and kissed the sleeper gently, and tlien went 
away to her own little nest upstairs. She 
was really tired, though she would not say 
so, and was soon in bed. When the sister 
came into her room later, she found the girl 
fast asleep, and so the good Avoman stole 
noiselessly away with a murmured “God 
bless her ” on her lijAS, and left her. 


20 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


CHAPTER IL 

The doctor came early next morning, felt 
his patient’s pulse, and shook his head 
gravely, lie had, a long conversation with 
the nurse, and went away, saying that he 
would look in again in the course of an hour 
or so. Clearly he thought very badly of the 
case, and when he did return he brought an- 
other doctor with him, one of the two great 
men who had come before at his request. 

At the end of a quarter of an hour’s con- 
sultation, during which x^oor Dorothy had 
remained in a fever of anxiety in the other 
room, the two men came out of the sick-cham- 
ber with grave, serious countenances. 

Dorothy turned to them with all her fears 
clearly written in her face, and as she did so 
the doctor who had attended Mrs. Villiers 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


21 


from the beginning came forward and took 
])otli the girl’s hands in his own. 

He was a kind little man, with a wife and 
daughters of his own at home, and he had 
always liked the grave-faced girl with her 
wonderful eyes and sad expression. 

“ Yes, Miss Dorothy,” he said, “ I know 
what you are going to ask me, and we have 
come to tell you the truth as kindly as we 
can. If I cannot disguise it in gentle lan- 
guage, you must forgive me. My dear Miss 
Dorotliy, we are sorry to have to tell you 
that your mother is— not at all well, not at 
all well.” 

Poor little man, his heart failed him when 
it came to the point, at the sight of the girl’s 
panic-stricken face, and lie could not find the 
words in which to make Iviiown to her that 
her mother’s life was now no longer a ques- 
tion of weeks and days, but of hours. 

Fortunately the great man came to the 


22 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


rescue. In smooth, kindly words he con- 
veyed to her the sad intelligence that there 
was no longer any ground for hope, that the 
end might indeed come almost at any mo- 
ment. lie asked her to believe that all that 
human skill could do had been done for her 
dying mother, and assured her of his great 
sympathy with her in so sore a trial. He 
was kindness itself, but his well-chosen, im- 
pressive words brought home the sad truth 
to the sorrowing girl as nothing else had 
done. 

She felt stunned and unable to realize it, 
and only when the great doctor took uj) his 
hat and prepared to depart did she regain 
strength to thank him for what he had done. 

Then she watched him as in a dream. She 
saw him turn to leave the room, and, pausing 
on the threshold, say a few parting words to 
his colleague. 

The latter waited until the other’s carriage 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


23 


had rolled away, and then he returned to the 
girl, who was still standing up straight and 
tall by the lire. 

“ My dear Miss Dorothy,” he said, “ how 
can I express my sorrow for you? Eveiy- 
thing has been done that could be done, and 
— well, after all, while there is life, there is 
hope.” 

Even as he used the time-worn phrase, his 
heart smote him. But the girl’s set look of 
anguish touched him to the quick, and he 
was too kind a man to miss even a small op- 
portunity of softening the blow if possible, 
though it might be only for a brief period. 

Ihit Dorothy only shook her head sadly. 

“Thank you. Dr. Williams,” she said. “I 
know you mean to be good to me, but I 
would rather not think of hope when all 
•hope has fled. I know this has been coming 
for a long time, but I thought my mother 
would live a little while yet, and now the end 


24 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


may come at any moment,” she went on as 
though to herself, “ at any moment. It is 
cruel ! ” 

J list then the nurse came in. She saw from 
the girl’s face that she knew the worst. 

But there was no time to spare in trying 
to comfort her at present, and all her care 
was needed to keep alive the small spark of 
life which threatened so soon to expire and 
leave Dorothy motherless and alone. 

Tliey all went back to the sick-room, where 
the invalid was lying propped uj) with pil- 
lows and breathing with difficulty. 

“ Is that you, Dorothy? ” she gasped, as the 
noise caused by the opening door made her 
aware that some one was entering the room. 
“I believe I am going to die,” she went 
on, “ but doctors are not always right, are 
they?” 

“ No, darling,” the girl forced herself to say ; 
“ doctors are very often wrong — very often. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


25 


But try to sleep now, dear, won’t you? Let 
me brush your hair for you— it always soothes 
you.” 

So she brushed on until her arm ached and 
her mother had fallen aslee^D again. 

And all the time the death-sentence rang 
in lier ears — “ At any moment! ” 

So the day wore away, but as evening ap- 
i:>roached the sick woman’s breathing became 
more labored and her pulse weaker, and it 
appeared evident to the three watchers that 
the end was not far off. 

And as the sun was setting, it came. 

The day had been beautiful after the storm 
of the night before, and there was a brilliant 
sunset, lighting up the skj^ for miles round 
with a wonderful red glow. 

Suddenly Dorothy was startled by her 
mother raising herself in the bed, and stretch- 
ing out her hands as though calling some one 
to her. 


26 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


Her eyes were open, and, instead of tlieir 
ordinary blank exi'jression, they i)Ossessed fire 
and life, and her usually colorless face be- 
came tinged with x:)ink. 

“Maurice,” she cried, “ I forgive you all. 
AVe were both mistaken, both wrong. Onl}'^ 
remember always, when I was dying, I for- 
gave you.” 

She sank back on her jiillows, and the 
nurse forced Horotliy gently from the room. 
For there was no further need to watch: Mrs. 
Yilliers was dead! 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


n 


CHAPTER III. 

So.^iE three years after the events recorded 
already, two girls Avere sitting together in a 
room at the toj) of a large house in Brighton. 
It Avas very untidy. A great basket trunk 
took up an unAvarrantable amount of space 
in the centre, Avhile smaller boxes lay littered 
about in Avild confusion. The two beds at 
one end were covered Avith all kinds of gar- 
ments, and the Avliole apartment betokened 
that stir and chaos attendant sometimes upon 
arrival, but almost always on departure. 

“ It doesn't look much like going to bed 
to-night, does it, Gerry? And j^oii AA'on’t 
mind my telling you candidly that I think 
you are quite the laziest person in this 
Avorld? IIoAV much energy, may I ask, do j^ou 


28 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


intend to contribute toward tidying this 
idace? ” 

“ My dear child,” was the answer, “don’t 
‘fasli’ yourself. If we are to go to-morrow, 
the boxes will have to go with us. At least, 
there is no doubt about that! But whether 
they depart full or empty depends on the 
efforts of their respective owners. For my 
part, I fail to see where the good comes in 
of carting away all the rubbish which I am 
pleased to describe as my wardrobe. 

I know, have at least two garments worthy 
of transportation, but I — well, just let us 
see exactly how I do stand.” 

So saying, the speaker got up from the 
floor, where she had been sitting, and moved 
toward the beds, where the despised habili- 
ments were all spread out as if they courted 
inspection. 

The girl took them up one after the other, 
and passed verdicts on them all. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


29 


“ This^" she said to her companion, hold- 
ing iq) one of the many garments, “ was once 
a very elegant confection. In its original 
state it was really very beautiful, but, like all 
very beautiful things do, it has faded and 
grown old. It has many rents and many 
more darns ; the rents were unavoidable, and 
the darns might have been so too, but for the 
energy of mademoiselle, who compelled me 
to work at them. Into the rag-bag it shall 
go,” she continued, and the garment was 
consigned to a corner of the room, where 
many other articles had already been thrown. 

She took up her dresses one after the other, 
till she had reduced their original number to 
two, which sbe made up her mind to keep 
“ for resi^ectability’s sake,” as she explained 
to her friend. 

“ Can’t you imagine,” she said, “ the expres- 
sion on the maid’s face at my aunt’s to-mor- 
row, when she begins to unpack my trunks 


30 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


and linds nothing but rags and emptiness — 
rags in the little box, and an aching void in 
the two larger ones?” 

“ Really, Gerry, how you do rattle on,” said 
her companion, who meanwhile had been 
honestly at work packing her own boxes. 

“ Do set to work, dear, to try and tidy the 
room a little.” 

“ You dear old methodical thing, so I will,” 
replied Gerry, and set to work she did. For 
the next quarter of an hour all conversation 
ceased, and the two girls made great efforts 
to put the place into order. 

Geraldine Fane, or Gerry as she was . 
called by her intimates, was the daughter 
of an officer in India. Brought home at an 
early age by her mother, and left in the care 
of an aunt, Gerry had spent most of her life 
far away from her jiarents and the land of 
her birth. At ten years of age she had been 
sent to school, and now the time had come 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 31 

for her to return to her parents and com- 
mence a new period of existence. 

She had made many friends during her 
school life, but chief among them all was 
Dorothy Yilliers. In the years which had 
elapsed since the close of the last chapter, 
Dorothy had not altered much. At sixteen 
she had been a grave, serious girl, and at 
nineteen she was little changed, save that 
the i^ast three years had taken some of the 
sadness out of her face and made her look, 
if anything, three years younger instead of 
three years older. 

They had been good years for Dorothy. 
Immediately after her mother’s death, she 
had been sent to school by the old lawyer 
who had been left her sole guardian. He 
had come to see her almost at once when the 
news of the death of Mrs. Villiers reached 
him, and he had attended the funeral and 
tried in matter-of-fact tones to comfort the 


33 


lllE POWER OF AN EYE. ' 


girl whose life he was to influence so much 
diu’ing the next few years until she should 
come of age. 

Her mother had left Dorothy three hun- 
dred a year and a few trinkets, so that, though 
X^ractically alone in the world, the girl was 
not badly provided for. 

Then she had come to the school selected 
for her by her guardian, and set to work at 
her studies to make up for the time she had 
borrowed from them to nurse her sick mother. 
Naturally clever, the girl made ra|)id prog- 
ress, and at nineteen she was as well informed 
upon most subjects as other girls of her age. 

Between Geraldine Fane and herself there 
had sxn’ung uj) a warm friendshii^, though 
their two natures were wholly unlike. 

Gerry was a creature of impulse, hot- 
headed and hot-temjDered, easily influenced, 
and very affectionate. 

Dorothy, on the other hand, was curiously 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


33 


reserved and very even-tempered. She sel- 
dom made up her mind upon anything with- 
out serious reflection first; but when she 
had formed her or)inion, she was seldom led 
to alter it. 

And the same principle governed all she 
undertook, including her affection for Gerry, 
to whom she had given all the love she had 
formerly bestowed on her mother, but with 
very different results. If Dorothy loved her 
friend, Gerry returned her affection with all 
the warmth of her imi)ulsive nature; and 
the love that each had for the other had 
strengthened and grown with their lives, fill- 
ing for Dorothy the blank in her life occa- 
sioned by her mother’s death, and furnishing 
to Geraldine a pure, strong, influence which 
would never lose its power over her for good. 

It was their last evening at school, and the 
morrow was to see them commence that new 

existence which lies before every girl as the 
3 


34 : . THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

school gates swing behind her. Dorothy 
was to make her home with her guardian, 
whose wife had i)romised to introduce her to 
society and the world in general ; and Gerry 
was to remain with her aunt for a year be- 
fore returning to her parents in India. 

The packing came to an end at last. 

“ W e have done wonders, my dear,” said 
Gerry, surveying the apartment. “ We have 
really earned our night’s rest, so I, for one, 
mean to go to bed ; but you, are you going 
to burn more midnight oil in endeavoring to 
make this room appear uninhabited? Give 
111) the idea at once, Dolly, for you will never 
succeed in carrying it out, as you would have 
to disi^ense with me first, and with all my 
worldly goods next; so do go to rest now, 
like a Christian.” 

“ Of course I am going, silly one,” said her 
friend. “ And let me tell you I should have 
now been enjoying my beauty sleep if you 


TUE POWER OF AN EYE. 


35 


hadn’t been so lazy at the beginning. How- 
ever, I sui^pose you must be forgiven, as you 
luive worked like a convict for at least fif- 
teen consecutive minutes, so you may con- 
sider yourself pardoned, and we will both go 
to bed.” 

“ How I shall miss you to-morrow,” said 
Gerry, after a little. “ In fact,” she went on, 
“I don’t very well see how I am to get on 
without you. I think you will have to come 
with me to India at the end of the year. 
There is no reason why you shouldn’t. You 
are more or less your own mistress now, and 
mother is endlessly telling me how much 
nicer it would be if I had a sister. I wish 
you were coming to the aunt’s with me. 
And yet, you would not like the life there, 
or my aunt either, for that matter! In fact, 
I am quite sure you would hate her, because 
you would sift her character in a day and 
find out what a wonderful sham it is.” 


36 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“ Hiisli, dear,” said Dorothy, “ are you not 
a little hard on her? ” 

“ Oh, dear, no,” rei^lied the other girl. “ I 
do not hate her, remember, because with me 
it is different. I have known my aunt and 
her little ways ever since I can remember 
anything. When I was a baby of seven,” 
she went on, steadily brushing out her long 
hair all the time, “ I recollect being hurried 
upstairs from the drawing-room to be put 
into my Sunday frock, because old Lord 
Rathmore’s carriage had driven iqi to the 
door, and the noble earl himself was about 
to honor my aunt with ten minutes’ conver- 
sation. I distinctly remember the incident, 
because I had been very happy jffaying with 
another visitor at the time in the drawing- 
room, enjoying myself thoroughly too, in 
quite a shabby frock. But the other visitor 
was only plain Mr. Smith, of nowhere in 
particular, and my shabby dress was quite 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


37 


in keeping with him ; while Lord Rathmore 
was an earl, with innumerable places in Eng- 
land, Scotland, and Ireland, and a million of 
money at his back to help make his acquaint- 
ance a desirable item in my aunt’s daily 
round. So the Sunday frock and the best 
sash became inevitable, and I was deprived 
of a friend whose society was most congenial 
to me, to go and sit for one minute instead 
upon the knee of a gouty old monstrosity, 
and pretend that I always wore my Sunday 
frock on a week-day, just because the visitor 
was a peer of the realm.” Dorothy could 
not repress a laugh, in which Gerry joined 
heartily. 

“ Ah ! my dear,” she said, “ I could tell you 
many more stories, much funnier ones too, 
some of them, and then, perhaps, you would 
understand why I call Aunt Susanne a sham. 
Aunt Susanne^ indeed,” she continued, 
“ fancy calling herself t7iat. Why, her name is 


88 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


really Susan, with no double ‘ n ’ or ‘ e ’ at the 
end. I have seen it written in an old i^rayer- 
book of hers, ‘ S-u-s-a-n,’ ‘ Susan Fordyce, 
from her loving mother.’ But she says her 
name is not the English Susan ; oh, dear, no, 
it is French, and you must pronounce it Sus- 
arnne ! ” 

-Both girls laughed heartily over the joke, 
and the irrepressible Gerry continued for 
some time telling her friend amusing anec- 
dotes about her relation, until at last Dor- 
othy insisted upon putting out the lights 
and going to sleep. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


39 


CHAPTER IV. 

Iisr a comfortable dining-room of a house 
in the West End of London, a party of three 
wei’e seated at dinner. The meal was nearly 
ended, and the servants were removing the 
glasses preparatory to setting the dessert on 
ihe table. An elderly man sat at the head, 
looking as though he longed to escape from 
llie presence of the two ladies who were his 
comx^anions to the privacy of his own sanc- 
tum, there to read his evening jiaper and 
smoke his cigar in peace. 

But if these were his thoughts, he gave no 
outward and visible sign of them, beyond 
that contained in his expression. 

On the contrary, he turned to his right- 
hand neighbor and commenced asking her 


40 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


whether she felt hax^py at the idea of liaviiig 
left her school-days behind her. 

But before Gerry — for she it was — conld 
rex'>ly, a voice from the other end of the 
table drawled, in languid tones: 

“Really, James! IIow can yon ask Ger- 
aldine such a foolish question? All girls 
like to leave school! I hated school, but of 
course I was a woman at sixteen. Indeed, 
the Misses Blucher, who ke^^t the establish- 
ment in Brussels where I was educated, have 
frecpiently told me that I was beyoud my 
years in everything excei^t appearance, and 
that at fifteen I was an accomiJished wo- 
man! So that naturally I was more eager to 
leave school than most girls; but, of course, 
all girls are glad to do so, too, more or 
less!” 

“ I don’t know, aunt,” interrupted Geriy. 
“ I don’t think I am altogether glad. I shall 
miss the life there, and my friends, and dear 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 41 

Dorothy most of all. It is dreadful having 
to leave her ! ” 

“ Reall}^, Greraldine,” replied her aunt, 
“ you are so ridiculous over your friend- 
ships. You were so as a child, I remember. 
You conceived quite an affection for a young 
man of the name of Smith. Quite a nobody 
he was, too; and when I told you that I in- 
tended dropping his acquaintance, I recol- 
lect you cried! Fancy, James, she actually 
cried! And he was really a nobody! ” 

“But, my dear Susan,” replied her hus- 
band, “you are really mistaken. Young 
Smith’s father was a very good fellow, and a 
great friend of mine into the bargain; and 
liis grandmother married a brother of the 
late Lord Moretoun — so you are entirely 
wrong in calling young Smith a nobody. 
He is very well connected, and I’m sorry 
we’ve lost sight of him of late years.” 

“ Really, James,” said his wife, “ I wish you 


42 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


would remember to call me by my proper 
name. You invariably say Susan, though 
you know how much I dislike it. It amuses 
me so very much,” she continued, “ to hear 
you describe any friend of yours. It never 
matters w7io they are, they are all called 
‘good fellows,’ and really, when I inquire 
about them, I seldom iind one among them 
who could prove a desirable acquaintance 
for a woman in my position.” 

“Lor’ bless you, my dear,” rejoined her 
husband, “ to hear you talk of your position 
is enough to make a cat laugh— it is, indeed! 
Why, come, Susan, after all, when you mar- 
ried me, I was a long way below young 
Smith in the scale, both as regards connec- 
tions and position; why, I ” 

“Thank you, James, that is quite sufli- 
cient,” intermitted Mrs. Pordyce; “I know 
what you are going to say quite well, so you 
need not repeat it. You are never tired of 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


43 


lingging the fact to yourself that you are a 
self-made man. But now that Geraldine is 
no longer a school-girl, it devolves upon me 
to be very careful to introduce her to really 
smart people. And therefore, Geraldine,” 
slie went on, addressing her niece, who had 
taken no part in the discussion, “ I hope that 
if you have made any undesirable friend- 
sliips, you will forego them now that you are 
to ‘ come out ’ and be introduced into society. 
And that reminds me— who is your friend 
Dorothy, and who are her parents? ” 

“ Dollie’s parents are both dead, I believe,” 
replied Gerry, “ but I know her mother be- 
longed to one of the oldest families in Scot- 
land, of which she was the last surviving 
member, and her father was an oflicer in 
India, but he died many years ago, and Doro- 
thy does not know very much about him. 
She has lived during her holidays since her 
mother’s death with her guardian, a well- 


44 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


known lawyer named Regan, residing in 
Portman Square.” 

“ Well known ! I should rather think he is 
well known,” chimed in her uncle. “ Why, 
he is one of the cleverest men of the day, 
and I have known Jim Regan ever since we 
were lads together up at Oxford. And a 
very excellent chap he is, too, and always 
was. He’ll tell you as good a story and give 
you as sound port as any man in the king- 
dom. And old Regan’s dinners are fit for 
an alderman. So he’s your friend’s guardian, 
is he, my dear? ” he said to his niece. “Well, 
I wish her luck, for he’s a right-down good 
chap all round, a right-down good chap all 
round! ” and James Fordyce raised his glass 
to the health of his old friend. As he did 
so, his wife rose from the table, and, favoring 
him with one glance, in which scorn and dis- 
gust were pretty equally mingled, she swept 
out of the room, conveying her niece with her. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


45 


James Fordyce gave a great sigh of relief 
as the door closed behind his too aristocratic 
wife, i)oured himself out another glass of 
port, lit his cigar, and then retired to the 
recesses of a big arm-chair, and immersed 
himself in his evening paper, as contented 
for the time being as he had been discon- 
tented half an hour before. 

Meanwhile Gerry and her aunt made their 
way into Mrs. Fordyce’s boudoir, a small 
room adjoining the drawing-room, and fur- 
nished according to the peculiar taste of its 
owner. The walls and hangings were all 
dark green, the sort of color that would have 
been admirable in a library or even in a din- 
ing-room, but was certainly very much out of 
l^lace in a lady’s sanctum. All the chairs 
and cushions were upholstered in the same 
sombre shade, and every seat in the room 
betokened that regard for dei)ortment of 
which Mrs. Fordyce made a kind of religion. 


4C 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


There could be no possibility of lounging or 
even of leaning back comfortably in any of 
the straight-backed chairs or rigidly stilf 
sofas, and even the cushions, from which 
better things might have been exi^ected, 
were as hard and unrelenting as they should 
have been soft and i^liable. 

Gerry surveyed the whole apartment with 
disgust clearly written on her face. She was 
tired after her journey and the excitement 
of leaving school, and her back ached, mak- 
ing her long for even half an hour’s rest in a 
comfortable chair. But no such luxury was 
to be expected from Mrs. Fordyce’s boudoir, 
so there was nothing to be done but to choose 
the least hard among the chairs, and wait 
for a favorable opportunity to escape to 
bed. 

Mrs. Fordyce sat down majestically by 
the tire, with the tips of her shoes resting 
against the fender, and then gave her niece 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


47 


a coinx^reliensive stare, wliicli ai)X3areiitly had 
no very satisfactory result. 

“ Is that your best gown? ” she said at last, 
ill the same languid tones in which all her re- 
marks had been couched at dinner. “ Surely 
you must jjossess one which is more gen- 
erally coinme il faut, and which would be 
more suitable for you to ai^iiear in when din- 
ing at your uncle’s table.” 

“ All the same,” answered Gerry, “ I am 
afraid it is my best frock, and not only is it 
my best, but it is also my worst, for the sim- 
ple reason that, like the gentleman in the 
comic song, I have ‘only one.’ You remem- 
ber the song. Aunt Susanne, ‘ one umbrella 
have I got, only one, just enough, don’t want 
a lot ’” 

“ Will you be quiet, Geraldine? and do 
remember that I detest the mere mention of 
a comic song. They are exceedingly low and 
vulgar; and now that you have left school, I 


48 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


trust tliat you will endeavor to cure yourself 
of certain unladylike habits which you have 
acquired, particularly the one I am now re- 
ferring to, that of singing comic songs. 13 ut 
to return to your wardrobe, what clothes 
have you brought baclv with you from 
school? ” 

“ Two day dresses,” said Gerry, counting 
them on her lingers meanwliile, “both anti- 
quated and extremely shabby; one you have 
seen and don’t like, and the other you will 
see to-morrow, and will not like, eithei'. 
Besides, one evening dress, being worn at 
this present; one jacket, very old and out at 
the elbows; one ulster, weak in the knees, 
very weak, and ” 

“ Silence, Geraldine! ” said her aunt. “ It 
is strange that you cannot recognize the ex- 
treme unsuitability of treating serious mat- 
ters with levity. I did not ask you to de- 
scribe your clothes in detail, but only to 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


49 


answer the simi)le question as to how many 
you had brought back with you.” 

“ I am sorry, Aunt Susanne,” the girl said 
apologetically. “ I will begin all over again; 
two day dresses, one evening dress, one ” 

“ That is sullicient,” interruiited her aunt. 
“I understand you to say you have three 
dresses altogether. Doubtless, Elise may be 
able to do something toward repairing one or 
even two of them, in order that you may have 
something to wear while your others are 
being made. I have had a letter from India 
this morning, with an inclosure for you from 
your mother, in which she says that, con- 
trary to her original idaiis, she intends com- 
ing home in about six months’ time from 
now. In that case, she will only stay three 
months in England before returning to your 
father, when, of course, you will accompany 
her.” 

Gerry could not repless an exclamation of 
4 


50 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


deliglit at the idea of seeing her mother 
again so soon, and of going out to that home 
in India wliich always seemed a kind of fairy- 
land in her thoughts of the future. 

“ Can you give me mother’s letter? ” she 
said. “ I was almost afraid that she had not 
written this mail. How delightful it will be 
to see her again ! ” 

“Yes,” said her aunt; “I shall be glad to 
see Mary again, too. It has always been a 
matter of regret to me that she should have 
married a man whose work kept him in 
India. It would have been such an advan- 
tage to my sister if she could have lived in 
England near me. I could have introduced 
her to all my friends, and she might have led 
such a different life.” 

With all Mrs. Fordyce’s lu’ejudices and 
affectation, she was not ’without feeling, and 
she had always loved her sister and kejff a 
warm corner in her heart for her. 


THE POWER OF 2iN EYE. 


51 


Mrs. Fane was fourteen years younger 
tlian Janies Fordyce’s wife, and they were as 
different in everything as any two sisters 
could be. 

Geraldine’s mother cared nothing for the 
world outside her home, her husband, and 
her child. She was one of those simple, 
pure-hearted women who never fail to make 
their homes the abode of all that is peaceful 

and happy, and who are loved by all with 

• 

whom they come in contact. She had mar- 
ried her husband when they were little more 
than boy and girl, and as she had wor- 
shipped him then, so she worshi2)ped him 
now. Nothing of tlie bitterness which creeps 
into so many married lives had come to mar 
the perfect hapi^iness of hers. 

And Colonel Fane loved his wife, and 
thought her j ust as perfect as he had done 
when, himself a young man of four-and- 
twenty, he had jiromised to love, honor, and 


52 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


cherish lier so long as they both should live. 
Small Avonder was it that with such parents 
Geraldine possessed a bright, affectionate, 
and sunny nature, and the girl’s love for her 
father and mother had never changed during 
the long years of separation. 

She took lier mother’s letter now from her 
aunt with eager delight. “ I am coming 
home,” wrote Mrs. Fane, “ early in Seiffember, 
though your father is trying to persuade me 
to remain here until October on account of 
the heat. But the sooner home the sooner 
out again, and I shall only be quite luqApy 
wlien we are all together in Ajpur. It is 
rather an uncivilized life, dear Gerry, and 
sometimes you will find it dull; but your 
father won’t hear of your remaining here 
during the hot weather, so we shall inobably 
go iq) to the hills, and then you Avill have 
lots of fun and gayety. I must wait until 
I see your friend Dorothy before deciding 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


53 


whether I could ask her to come out with us 
for a time. You are such an impulsive child 
that you need some one to overlook your 
friendships. But from what you have told me 
of her I like your friend, and w^e must leave 
the rest until I can see her and judge for my- 
self.” Then followed a long list of instruc- 
tions on various matters, making the letter 
a long one. When Gerry had finished it, 
however, Mrs, Fordyce claimed her attention 
again. 

“ To-morrow,” she said, “ we must go about 
your clothes. On Friday there is a ball to 
which you shall go, that is, of course, if I 
can get any sort of frock for you to go in. 
Do you remember tlie Earl of Rathmore ? 
lie is giving it, and all the smart people in 
London will be there. Ah, my dear!” she 
continued, with more energy than she usu- 
ally threw into her tones, “ what a pity it is 
you cannot marry Lord Rathmore ! Such an 


54 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


excellent match it would be! And I know 
so many girls who would jumx) at him. - 
Rich, titled, with four country seats, a house 

in Piccadilly, and ” 

“ Old, gouty, bad-tempered, red-nosed, and 
ninety,” chimed in Gerry, irreverently; “ wh 5 % 
Aunt Susanne, it would be an excellent match 
indeed! I might just as well retire at once 
to the British Museum and marry a mummy 
At least 1 could keep him, or it rather, in its 
shell, and no one would expect me to drive 
in the park with it or take it to parties, as 
they certainly would if I mari ied old Lord 
Ruthmore. There is no comj^arison between 
the two, and judgment must be given in 
favor of the mummy. Besides,” she con- 
tinued, “do you really think there is any 
necessity for me to get married at all, or at 
any rate for some years ? I believe mother 
woidd break her heart at the mere idea 
of such a thing. AVhy, I should have to give 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


55 


ux) India and all my jdans ! It would never 
do at all! So let us leave Lord Ratlimore 
to the many girls who are ready to jumx3 at 
him.” 

“ Please endeavor to treat my friends with 
respect, Geraldine,” said her aunt; “and I 
trust that you will be very polite to Lord 
Ratlimore, even if you cannot symiiathize 
witli me in my desire to advance your social 
standing in the world.” 

“ Of course I will,” replied the girl, “ and 
really I am filled with delight at the idea of 
a ball. It is jolly of you to take me. But 
will you mind if I go to bed now? I really 
am rather tired, and I know you like to have 
breakfast early. So if you will let me, I will 
bid you good-night.” 

Mrs. Fordyce sat on for some time after 
her niece had left her. With all her worldli- 
ness she was really fond of her. She had no 
children of her own, and Gerry had filled a 


5G 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


claiigliter’s place in tlie house for so many 
years that her aunt felt a keen sense of pain 
at the thought of parting with the girl in 
six months’ time. She had seen her grow 
np from babyhood to girlhood, and, though 
she had failed always to understand her dis- 
position and highl}^ strung temperament, she 
was fond of her niece, and, more than that, 
she was proud of her. For Gerr3% without 
being beautiful, was extremely fascinating. 
Her sunny smile and happy face brought 
her a good deal of admiration, and at eigh- 
teen she possessed that hemite du diahle 
which in young girls so often passes for 
something more ambitious. 

But Mrs. Fordyce was too worldly a woman 
to give way, even in her thoughts, to senti- 
ment, and before long she was busily sum- 
ming up in her own mind the chances of 
Geraldine’s marrying the Earl of Rathmore, 
and calculating how much it would cost to 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


57 


fit lier niece out in garments worthy of so 
noble a speculation. 

Meanwhile in the Regans’ house, in Port- 
man Square, Dorothy was sitting with her 
guardian and his wife. She had received a 
rapturous welcome from the various mem- 
bers of the family at home at the time. In 
all, they numbered eleven, six girls and five 
boys, varying in age from three to twenty., 
Tliey all worshii^ped Dorothy, and she felt 
just as much at home with them as she would 
have done had tliey been her own brothers 
and sisters. 

The younger ones had been collected in 
the hall on her arrival, and they surrounded 
her as soon as she appeared, all eager to give 
her a warm welcome. 

“It is delightful to see you all again, you 
dear things,” she said, when she had returned 
IMrs. Regan’s motherly embrace. 

“ And we think it delightful to have you 


58 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


with US once more, my dear. There has been 
such excitement over your coming! ” said the 
mother. 

“Yes, Dollie, and Martin has kei^t his 
white mouse to show you. It is dead, you 
know, but we kneAV you would like to see 
it before we buried it, and so Martin lias 
kept it.” 

“ Yes, and noAv she will be able to come to 
the funeral, Rachael— won’t that be lovely ? ” 
chimed in another small voice. 

But Mrs. Regan had intermitted all the 
childish confidences by carrying Dorothy off 
to the room which had always been hers 
during her holidays, and it was only in the 
afternoon that she had been allowed to give 
herself up to the children. They showed her 
the white mouse, which had died two days 
before her arrival, and over whose carcass 
many tears had been shed, and she promised 
with much gravity to mourn at its funeral. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


59 


Blit the day was nearly over now, and 
Dorothy was talking to her guardian and 
his wife, in the quiet hour after dinner, when 
the children were all in bed and asleep. 

“ I have been telling my wife,” said Mr. 
llegan, “ that we shall have to wake up, now 
you have come to us, and make arrangements 
for taking you about a bit. Young girls, I 
know, want balls and parties just as much 
nowadays as ever they did when I was a 
young man. I know of a ball on Friday that 
you might go to, given by that old noodle 
the Earl of Rathmore, who ought to be pre- 
paring himself for the next world instead of 
giving entertainments and trying to deceive 
himself that he has another Dventy years 
of life before him. But, after all, that is not 
my business — my business is to take 3^011 to 
the ball, as mother isn’t strong enough to go 
herself with you, and get you lots of part- 
ners. Eh! Miss Dollie?” 


CO THE POWEll OF AN EYE. 

“How good yon are!” said the girl. “I 
slionld like to go very mncli.” 

“ So yon shall, then, my dear,” was the an- 
swer, “ so yon shall, Bnt now I mnst ask 
yon to excuse me, as I have some important 
papers to look through, and mnst get through 
them before morning. So I’ll say good-night 
to yon — and to yon, my dear,” he said, turn- 
ing to his wife; “ don’t keep this child nji any 
longer, and j^on go to bed, too, for I know 
yon are tired.” So saying he bnstled away, 
leaving the two women together. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


61 


CHAPTER V. 

The two Meiicls did not meet again until 
the evening of Lord Rathmore’s ball. Both 
had been busy in dressmaking ox)erations, 
and Mrs. Eordyce had sternly resisted Ger- 
aldine’s pleading to be allowed to i^ay even a 
Hying visit to her friend in Portman Square. 
Horotliy had managed to snatch a couple of 
liours one day for the i)urpose of paying a 
visit to Geraldine, but her efforts were of no 
avail, as, on arriving at the house, she had 
been greeted with the information that the 
ladies were out, and were not exi)ected home 
until quite late in the evening. Gerry wrote 
a hurried note to her friend, on arriving at 
home and finding that she had called during 
her absence, in which she told her that she 


62 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


was going to Lord Ratliinore’s ball, and 
Dorothy had replied at once saying that she 
was going too. 

The day arrived at last, but in the niorning 
there came an urgent request to Mr. Regan, 
begging him to go down to a xdace in Wor- 
cestershire to draw uj) a will for a rich client, 
who was not expected to live very long. 
The business would admit of no delay, and 
he was obliged to go, though he did so very 
unwillingly, as he had set so much store on 
taking Dorothy to her first ball. It looked 
as though the girl would have to give it uxi, 
as Mrs. Regan was too unwell to venture 
out, and she knew of no one to whose care 
she could conlide her. 

Dorothy was bitterly disajiiiointed, but 
she bore it with good grace, and would not 
hear of Mrs. Regan’s going to the ball on her 
account. She sent a message to Gerry tell- 
ing her of the x^iece of bad luck which had 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


63 


i:>ut an end to lier castles in the air about the 
dance. 

Mrs. Fordyce and her niece were at lunch 
when the note arrived. Geraldine read it 
eagerly, and her face fell, but after a moment’s 
consideration she turned to her aunt and read 
tlie letter to her. 

“ Couldn’t you take her. Aunt Susanne ? ” 
she said i^ersuasively. “Dollie is such a 
dear, and she is certain to look perfectly 
sweet. Do take her witli us— it loould be 
nice of you. It 'is so hard that she should 
be disapx»ointed over her lirst l)all. May I 
write and tell her to come here this evening 
and go with us? ” 

Mrs. Fordyce happened to be in a particu- 
larly gracious mood. Her niece had given 
way to her entirely in the matter of choosing 
her wardrobe, and had fallen in with her 
plans admirably during the last few days. 
But the request she made now was a large 


64 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


one in Mrs. Fordyce’s estimation, and she 
was not at all inclined to grant it. 

“ My dear Geraldine,” she said, “ it is really 
asking me a great deal to xn’opose my taking 
your friend to the ball. I know nothing of 
her, or how she would get on. I really don’t 
think I could take her.” 

“ J ust this once,” pleaded Gerry ; “ I lorom- 
ise you she won’t disgrace you. She is much 
X)rettier than 1 am, too, and every one will 
like her. So let me write her a line to 
come.” 

There were signs of wavering in Mrs. 
Fordyce’s face, which Geraldine was not slow 
to remark. She acted ux)on the fact, and 
rushed to the writing-table to send the good 
news to her friend. 

“Good news, my dear old Dollie,” she 
wrote. “ Aunt Susanne will take you to the 
ball with me to-night, so be here by eight. 
Of course you Avill dine with us first, and then 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


65 


we will all start together. I am charmed. 
Send me a line to say you can come. 

“ Yours ever, Gerky.” 

“ There, Aunt Siisanne, this is what I have 
written,” she said, and read the note out 
aloud to her aunt. 

“How terribly imimlsive yon are, Ger- 
aldine,” Mrs. Fordyce remarked; “yon are 
so ready to jump at conclusions, and really, 
yon know, I have not said anything about 
taking your friend, and I don’t like the idea 
at all. Your uncle will think it so curious, 
too ; he knows what a dislike I have to mak- 
ing new acquaintances of whom I know noth- 
ing beforehand.” 

“Never mind, dear,” said Gerry; “I have 
sent the note now, and I promise to square 
matters Avitli Uncle Jim to your credit.” 

She had lost no time in giving the note, 
which she had marked “ Immediate,” to the 

servant Avhile her aunt was talking. It was 
5 — 


66 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


always a mistake to let Mrs. Fordyce com- 
mence an argument, as it invariably ended 
unfavorably for her antagonist. But if slie 
was taken by storm, as it were, and her first 
decision accepted as final, she gave in and 
j)robably did or said exactly what was re- 
quired of her, unless, of course, it hapx:)ened 
to be a matter about which she was firmly 
resolved beforehand. 

She really had no particular reason for 
objecting to take Geraldine’s friend to the 
ball; for though she had sneered at her hus- 
band’s description of the Regans, at dinner 
the night before, she knew well enough that 
their name stood high up in the world, and 
that they frequently entertained and were 
entertained by the great ones of the land. 
They were, therefore, not the kind of people 
to introduce into the society in which they 
moved any one unworthy of a favorable re- 
ception, and their name alone was sufficient 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


07 


to guarantee to their ward a warm welcome. 
So, on tlie whole, though Mrs. Fordyce con- 
tinued to raise objections for the rest of the 
day against taking Dorothy to the ball, in 
her heart of hearts she was not at all averse 
to doing 80. 

A ra})turous letter reached Geraldine from 
her friend in the afternoon, and when, a little 
before eight. Miss Villiers was announced, 
Mrs. Fordyce knew that as far as outward 
appearances went, Geraldine’s friend left 
nothing to be desired. She was dressed en- 
tirely in white, with no ornaments save a 
beautiful string of pearls round her neck, 
which had belonged to her mother. Her 
dark hair was simply done, and her usually 
pale complexion was enhanced by a delicate 
color the result of excitement. Her won- 
derful eyes looked more brilliant than ever, 
and as she advanced into the room, Geraldine 
was struck dumb with admiration. 


68 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


She greeted her friend with much warmth, 
fully reciprocated by Dorothy, who returned 
Geraldine’s embrace most cordially. 

“This is Dorothy, Aunt Susanne,” said 
Geraldine, after a little, quite regardless of 
the fact that her aunt had already arrived 
at that conclusion. 

Dorothy went u^) to Mrs. Fordyce, and 
shook hands warmly with her. 

“ I am so grateful to you,” she said, “ for 
taking me with you to-night. If it had not 
been for your kindness, I should have had 
to remain at home, and it was such a terrible 
disappointment! I do thank you so very 
much.” 

Mrs. Fordyce murmured acknowledgments 
in a graceful, languid tone. She had put on 
her most elevated manner with her smartest 
dress for Lord Dathmore’s edification, and 
she was also extremely self-satisfied over her 
own and her niece’s ai:»pearance. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


69 


Slie was about to make some polite obser- 
vation to Dorothy, when her husband entered 
the room. 

Poor man ! He cordially detested balls, or 
indeed any evening entertainment outside a 
dinner or a theatre. But Mrs. Fordyce sel- 
dom went out to any function without his 
escort, and on such an occasion as the pres- 
ent she would as soon have given up the ball 
as leave her husband at home. 

“ Well, Susan,” he said, laying particular 
stress on the objectionable name, not because 
he wished to arouse his better-lialf's ire, but 
because it was natural to him to call her by 
the old-fashioned name which she had borne 
more than fifteen years before, when he had 
first, known her. “ Well, Susan, T must cer- 
tainly congratulate you all on your appear- 
ance. And this young lady is Miss Villiers, 
I sui^i^ose,” he went on, “my old friend Jim 
Regan’s ward — I’m sure I’m very glad to see 


TO 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


yon, my dear— very glad. I’ve known yoiir 
guardian some twenty years or more — and 
I’ve a wonderful liking for him, though 
somehow I don’t seem to have seen him as 
much as I should like since we both married 
— wliich is my misfortune — but he’s an excel- 
lent chap all round, a most excellent chap.” 

Dorothy joined him in praising her guar- 
dian, and, dinner being announced at that 
moment, he offered her his arm, and they led 
the way to the dining-room, followed by the 
others. That dinner was certainly as unlike 
most meals in tlie Fordyces’ mansion as it 
could be. The two girls were both in the 
highest of spirits, and James Fordyce was 
only too pleased to join in their bright con- 
versation. Even his wife was occasionally 
made to smile, though the extra supply of 
dignity which she had donned in honor of 
the occasion would not admit of her joining 
in the hearty laugh with which her husband 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 71 

welcomed any fresh joke or amusing story 
on the part of either of the girls. 

Dorothy made a great impression on him. 
Geraldine judged as much, from the fact that 
her uncle related his two funny stories to 
her friend before the dinner was half ended. 
Those two particular anecdotes were James 
Fordyce’s delight, but he only related them, 
as a rale, on very special occasions to people 
whom he greatly liked. Dorothy had shown 
a great appreciation of the first, a simple 
anecdote about a curate and an old a^^ple- 
woman. So the good man thought he could 
not do better than relate the second to her. 

The curious part of James Fordyce’s con- 
versation was that, never mind what the sub- 
ject might be, he invariably found a way of 
turning the discussion in such a manner as 
to give him an opening for one, if not both, 
of his amusing stories. And as the two 
were totally different, this was a really clever 


72 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


manoouvre on liis part. On the present occa- 
sion he turned the conversation from English 
apple-women and curates to Scotcli rei')re- 
sentatives of those and other professions, 
and then he followed with his second and 
most valued story about a Scotch minister 
on his way to the kirk, who, passing a sal 
mon stream, saw a very line salmon leap out 
of the water. “ Sandy,” said the meenister 
to his man, who was following him carrying 
Ids books, “ Sandy, me mon, gae back to the 
manse and fetch ma rod, and thin gae to the 
kirk and gar the folks sing the llOlh Psalm.” 

Who the author of this story was no one 
ever knew, and Geraldine had heard it from 
her uncle many times. However, she laughed 
just as heartily as did her fi-iend over it on 
this occasion, and three at least of the party 
were (piite sorry when the dinner came to 
an end. It w'as only a little past nine, and 
quite two hours and a half remained to be 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


73 


disposed of before the girls could hope to 
start for the ball. Mrs. Fordyce was far too 
fashionable a woman to think of arriving at 
such an entertainment before twelve. 

“ I tell you what,” said her husband, as the 
ladies were about to leave the dining-room, 
“ why not let us all go off to the theatre? 
We shall all go to sleep if we sit here for 
nearly three hours. There is an amusing 
tiling at the Court, which does not begin 
until 9:30 or ten. What do you say, young 
people?” he asked, turning to the girls. 

But his wife evinced her disgust at the 
mere idea. 

“ I have no objection to your taking the 
girls,” she said in a tired drawl, “but* you 
cannot expect me to go. I am never very 
fond of a comic play, and I could not go on 
any account on such an evening as this. 
But if Miss Villiers likes.” 

Geraldine had taken up a position behind 


74 THE POWER OB AN EYE. 

her aunt’s back, and she attracted her friend’s 
attention by nodding her head violently, 
which Dorothy understood to mean that she 
was to express a wish to go to the theatre. 

“ I should like to go very much,” she said, 
“ if it really will not make any difference to 
you.” And having said so much, she had to 
turn away to avoid smiling at the ridiculous 
pantomime going on behind Mrs. Fordyce’s 
back, by which Geraldine was endeavoring 
to convey her approval of her friend’s action 
in the matter. 

So the three started off a few minutes after- 
ward to the theatre, where they heartily en- 
joyed tliemselves until the time came for 
tliem to make their way to Lord Rathmore’s 
ball. Mrs. Fordyce had overwhelmed lier 
husband with instructions as to wdiere they 
were to meet her, and the exact hour and 
place. Fortunately the two girls were early, 
and had to wait for her in the cloak-room. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


75 


CHAPTER VI. 

Does any pleasurable sensation, I wonder, 
ever come up to that experienced by a girl 
at her first ball? To Dorothy and Geraldine 
the lights, the flowers, and the crowd of beau- 
tifully dressed women seemed to make up a 
sort of fairyland, and when the music began 
the two girls felt that nothing was wanting. 

Mrs. Fordyce sailed into the room with her 
most majestic air, and made a bow, as she 
shook hands with the earl, which would not 
liave disgraced a drawing-room. She then 
l)resented her niece and Dorothy. Geraldine 
shook hands with Lord Rathmore, who com- 
[)limented her on her appearance and asked 
lier for a dance, which she was obliged to 
give him. 


7G THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

Dorothy received a stately welcome from 
liis lordship, couxded with an inquiry after 
her guardian, whom he had ex^iected to ap- 
pear at the ball. The earl had been for 
many years one of Janies Regan’s richest 
clients, and the old lawyer could have dis- 
closed many facts bearing nxion Lord Rath- 
more’s x^ast life which certainly did not re- 
dound to his credit. The old man was ex- 
tremely selfish, as he had always been from 
his youth ux^ward. He considered that 
nothing should be imxiossible to a man xios- 
sessed of riches, and thought that everything 
had its x^i’ice. In his young days he had 
eschewed matrimony because he considered 
no woman worthy of him. He knew that 
nine out of every ten girls he met would, as 
Mrs. Fordyce had graxdiicall}^ exxiressed it, 
have jumx^ed at him as a young man, but he 
also knew that other generations of young 
women, equally desirable and well favored, 


TUE POWER OF AN EYE. 77 

would be just as eager to take liiiii for better 
or for worse when he should be old and gouty 
and sour-temx)ered. So he had waited. It 
was now, however, a well-known fact that 
the Earl of Rathinore was contemxilating 
marriage, and that, too, from a purely busi- 
ness-like view of the matter. The x)rosx)ec- 
tive heir to the title was a certain Colonel 
liurgoyne, a distant cousin of the ijresent 
earl and a x>ersonage cordially detested by 
that noble x)eer. Therefore, in his estimation, 
marriage was a necessary evil, and it was 
absolutely imx)ortant that he should not die 
without a son and heir to succeed to the title 
and estates. So mothers who had marriage- 
able daughters to disx)ose of Hocked to the 
ball on this x^articular night, just as they had 
Hocked to others given by the same host. 
They took care that their girls should want 
for nothing as far as smart frocks were con- 
cerned, and in consequence the Earl of Rath- 


78 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


more’s dance was without doubt the best- 
attended and the best-dressed ball of the 
season. 

It was not long before Geraldine and her 
friend were dancing to their hearts’ delight. 
They were both bright, unaffected, pretty 
girls; and though men as a rule are apt to 
look upon a young debutante as a more or 
less uninteresting sx)ecimen, it was not long 
before they found out that these two girls 
were far more amusing and nicer to talk to 
than a great many other young women in the 
room ; and as a result Dorothy and Geraldine 
had as many i^artners during the evening as 
they had dances to bestow ux^on them. 

It was during an interval between two 
dances that Geraldine caught sight of a face 
she seemed to know, smiling at her from the 
ox^x^osite side of the room. 

“ I am sure I knovv that man,” she said to 
her x^artner; “ I know his face quite well, but 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 79 

I can’t remember his name; isn’t it tire- 
some? ” 

‘‘ Which man do you mean?” was the an- 
swer. “ Perhaps I can tell you. 'I know a 
good many men here to-night.” 

But before the girl had time to i^oiiit liim 
out, he had crossed the room and come iqi to 
her. 

“You must be my old friend Geraldine 
Faim,” said the new-comer, “ though it seems 
ridiculous calling you an ‘ old ’ friend. Have 
you quite forgotten Bertie Smith?” 

“ That is who you are, of course,” readied 
Geraldine. “Fancy my not remembering 
your name, though you know I had not for- 
gotten your face at all. I am so glad you 
came and spoke to me, as T should have been 
so sorry if I had remembered your name 
after I had gone home, when it Avas too late 
to let you knoAV I had not forgotten you.” 

“ You must give me a dance or two if it is 


80 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


not too late to ask you for them, and we will 
have a chat about old times.” 

Geraldine gave him the two last remaining 
dances on her card, and then he returned to 
the lady with whom he had been sitting 
when he caught sight of his old playmate. 

“ Well, Bertie,” said his comi)anion, “was 
it the i)erson you thought? She is very 
pretty, and you must introduce her to me 
later on.” 

“Yes, it was little Gerry right enough,” 
he said, “ though she has grown so much that 
I scarcely recognized her until she si)oke to 
me, and then there was no mistaking her 
voice.” 

Meanwhile Gerry and her partner had 
gone in search of a seat, and he had asked 
her about her friend. 

“ He is such an old friend of mine,” she 
said, “ and he used to i)lay with me when I 
was a little bit of a thing and he was a 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


81 


grown-up young man. I have not seen him 
for ages, because — well, because I have been 
at school, I suppose.” 

She had very nearly said “ because my aunt 
dislikes a nobody, and he is a nobody,” but 
pulled herself up in time, and then changed 
the conversation. 

Mr. Smith was not one minute behind time 
in claiming his dance. 

“This is No. 10, I think,” he said to Ger- 
aldine. “ Shall we dance or sit it out? The 
next is mine too, so we might dance that 
one, and give up this to talk over old times. 
AVhat do you say?” 

“ By all means let us sit this dance out,” 
Gerry readied. 

So they buried themselves in a cozy corner 
in the conservatory. 

“ I was never more surjorised in my life 
than I was to see you here to-night,” said 
the young man. “ When one loses sight of 


82 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


any one, as I have lost sight of you during 
the i;)ast few years, one forgets how time 
runs on. Here have I been thinking of you 
all this time as a child of twelve, and now I 
lind you grown ui), and ‘ out,’ as they say. 
It makes me feel quite an ancient mariner.” 

“Never mind what you feel,” replied the 
girl, smiling. “ You don’t look very ancient, 
so bear up. After all, this is only my iirst 
ball, and I have only been ‘ out,’ as you call 
it, exactly five days. Does that console you 
at all?” 

“ Well, it does make things a little better,” 
he answered. “ But all the same, when one 
is a married man and the father of a big boy 
of fivOj^ and one meets a girl whom one used 
to know as a baby, grown up, one does feel 
that old age isn’t so far away as it might be.” 

“Fancy you married!” said Geraldine. 
“ It does seem strange. Is your wife here? 
I should like to see her,” 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


83 


“ And slie wants to see yon, too,” lie re- 
plied ; “ so if yon will let me, I will find lier at 
tlie end of the next dance and introduce you. 
She knows a great deal about you, and l am 
sure you will get on together. Bat now tell 
me about yourself. When do you go to 
India, or are you going to stay at home and 
enjoy yourself? ” 

So the two talked on, and Geraldine told 
liiin all her iilans, until the band recalled 
them to the fact that No, 11 was about to 
commence. 

As they entered the ball-room, they came 
face to face with Mrs, Fordyce, She stared 
at Geraldine’s partner, and, as she did so, and 
recognized her old acquaintance “ plain Mr, 
Smith,” she resolved that at all costs Ger- 
aldine should be made to understand that 
she was never to dance with such a person 
again, 

“ How annoying of her,” she said to her- 


84 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


self. “ She knows quite well that I have 
ceased to be acquainted with Mr. Smith, and 
here she is deliberately flaunting her friend- 
shij) for him in every one’s face. It is too 
bad of her.” 

But she could do nothing just then beyond 
making a mental resolution to let her niece 
have the full benefit of her oijinion on the sub- 
ject as soon as they should leave the house. 

At the end of the dance, Geraldine was 
taken iqi to be introduced to “ Mr. Smith’s ” 
wife. She was a tall, beautiful woman, 
dressed in gray and covered with diamonds. 
She welcomed the girl very cordially. 

“ I have heard so much of you from Ber- 
tie,” she said, “ that I have often wished we 
could meet. It is very lucky my husband 
saw you.” 

“I am very glad, too,” said Geraldine. 
“ We used to be such friends when I was a 
little girl.” 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


85 


“ I liad no idea you knew Miss Fane, More- 
toun,” interrupted the Earl of Kathmore, 
with whom “ Mrs. Smitli ” had been sitting 
when her husband came up. “How long 
liave you known Lord Moretoun? ” he asked, 
turning to Gerry. 

The girl looked confused, and “ Mr. Smith ” 
laughed. 

“ I never thought of telling you,” he said, 
“ that I am no longer Bertie Smith. By a 
happy accident I came into the title and es- 
tates two years ago, and I am now Lord 
Moretoun. All the same, I am glad to find 
that you did not know it, little Miss Gerry, 
though, after all, ‘ what’s in a name? ’ ” 

“ I think there is a good deal in a name 
sometimes,” said Geraldine, “but I shall 
never think of you as anything but as jilain 
Mr. Smith, and I hope you won’t mind.” 

“Mind? of course he won’t!” put in his 
wife. “ I hoi^e we shall be friends. Miss Fane ; 


8G 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


and if you like to think of me as plain Mrs. 
Smith, why, do ! I was that once, you know, 
and not such a very long time ago, either.” 

“Mrs. Smith, j)erhaps,” interrupted the 
earl, “butj^^Zum Mrs. Smith, never! ” 

“You are always so gallant. Lord Rath- 
more,” she replied, “but even your pretty 
comxdiments cannot blind me to the fact that 
it is already nearly three o’clock, and high 
time for respectable folks such as Bertie and 
me to be thinking of going home. What 
do you say?” she asked, turning to her 
liusband. 

“ I am ready when you are, dear,” he an- 
swered. “ Shall I take you to your aunt. 
Miss Geraldine?” he continued. “I see her 
over there, and I’m afraid she does not like 
me to monopolize so much of your time. 
However, I think old friends can claim 
greater privileges than the rest of mankind, 
so we will put a brave face on the matter and 


The power of an eye. 


si 


go and make explanations. I will return 
immediately, Joan,” lie said to liis wife, and, 
tucking the girl’s arm within his oivn, he 
proceeded across the uoom to where Mrs. 
Fordyce had stationed herself in what she 
considered an admirable spot for overlooking 
her niece’s behavior to “that odious Mr. 
Smith.” 

Lord Moretoun bowed to Mrs. Fordj^ce, as 
he gave back her niece to her keeping. 

“I’m afraid you have forgotten me,” he 
said, with a shadow of a smile lurking about 
the corners of his mouth. “It is a good 
many years since I have had the honor of 
meeting you and Miss Geraldine. It was a 
most unexpected pleasure to meet her here 
to-night.” 

“ Most unexpected on both sides, I fancy, 
Mr. Smith. I had no idea that you knew 
Lord Rathmore,” she remarked stiffly. 

“ I have known him for some years,” he re- 


88 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


plied; “liis estate in Scotland joins mine; 
and as my wife and I are up there half the 
year, we see a good deal of him.” 

]\Irs. Fordyce could scarcely believe her 
own ears. “ Plain Mr. Smith ” talking of es- 
tates ! It seemed wholly impossible. How- 
ever, Lord Moretoun did not give her any 
time to find out further particulars. He 
bowed to her and shook hands cordially 
with Geraldine, who had meanwhile been nn 
amused on-looker at the scene. 

“ I hope you will not forget your promise 
to my wife. Miss Gerry,” he said to her. 
“ She will be delighted to see you whenever 
you care to come. Friday is her ‘dny,’but 
any day you like to drop in you will find 
yourself very welcome. I am so glad to have 
met you! Good-night!” and with another 
bow he was gone. 

Mrs. Fordyce was beside herself with in- 
dignation at the presumption of the “no- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


89 


body ” who had dared to ask her niece to 
visit his wife in her presence. 

“I am disgusted at your conduct,” she 
said to Gerry, while they waited in the cloak- 
room for Dorothy, of whom James Fordyce 
had gone in que^t. “ I am disgusted at your 
conduct, and I forbid you to know the 
Smiths. His wife is probably a nobod like 
himself, and I loill not know them.” 

“How curious!” said Gerry. “I should 
liave thought Lord and Lady Moretoun would 
have been exactly the sort of people you 
would like to know. They are very well 
off, 1 believe, and they are the dear friends 
of the Earl of Rathmore.” 

“ I do not understand you, Geraldine. I 
am talking of the Smiths— not Lord and 
Lady any one that I am aware of— and I de- 
sire that you will cease to know them in 
future.” 

“ Lord Moretoun is ‘ Mr. Smith,’ ” replied 


90 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


Gerry. “ He lias come in for the title and 
estates, and liis wife is the most beautiful 
woman I have ever seen. Uncle James al- 
ways said plain Mr. Smitli was very well 
connected, and yon see it was quite true — 
he is a lord ! ” 

For once in her life Mrs. Fordyce was 
nonplussed. She had to confess to herself 
that she had made a grand mistake. She 
had heard Lord Moretoun siioken of fre- 
quently. 

She remem])ered hearing of the unexpected 
death of the late iieer, but she never dreamed 
that his successor was none other than her 
old acquaintance, “ plain Mr. Smith.” And 
she had exiiressed her desire of meeting 
Ladj^ Moretoun so often to one or two of her 
friends who knew that ladj" slightly! 

Lndy Moretoun was spoken of as a beauty. 
Her photograxdis were in all the shop win- 
dows, and her name on every subscription 


THE POWER OP AN EYE. 


91 


list in the kingdom; and it was this lady, 
whose husband had just left her i^resence, 
whom she had thought would be most un- 
likely to know the great Earl of Rathmore! 

“ You should have told me that before, 
Geraldine,” she said. “ I am very much an- 
noj'ed with you.” 

That was all she said on the subject, and 
at this moment Dorothy arrived to divert 
her attention. 

Dorothy had enjo3^ed her evening as much 
as it was possible for a j'oung woman to 
en jo3" it. She was in high spirits, and won- 
dered whj" her friend was so quiet all the 
wa.y home. The carriage put her down at 
Ihe Regans’ house at last. 

“Good night,” she said, “and many, many 
thanks to you, Mrs. Fordj^ce, for having 
given me such a delightful evening. Good- 
night, dear Gerry. You will come and have 
tea with me to-morrow, won’t you ? and then 


92 


THE rOWER OF AN EYE. 


we will compare notes together over the 
dance.” 

Geraldine was very silent all the rest of 
the way home. Her aunt’s character seemed 
to the girl’s broad-minded, honest nature 
more shallow and untrue every day. Gerr}^ 
knew that had Mrs. Fordyce been aware of 
the fact that “ jdain Mr. Smith ” was now Loi d 
Moretoiin, she would have received him, as 
it were, with open arms, and her niece would 
have been comi^limented on her ingenuity 
in renewing the acquaintance. It was not 
only this fact in itself that made the girl 
thoughtful and silent, but she was asking 
herself whether it was necessary to be as 
her aunt was in order to get on in the world. 
Could she never hope to care for people for 
themselves, and not for their titles or their 
Avealth as the case might be; or was she 
always to sneer at the plain “Mr. Smiths” 
in life, and behave with obsequious i)olite- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


93 


ness to them when they became lords and 
ladies? 

Geraldine had seen nothing of the world, 
and she was at an age when girls form the 
impressions which are to make their lives 
better or worse. 

Fortunately her naturally alfectionate na- 
ture stood her in good stead. Before her 
drive home came to an end, she had come to 
the conclusion that she would choose her 
friends for what they were, not for what they 
could do for her; and that having chosen 
them, no difference in their social position 
should ever be allowed to come between her 
and them. It was a wise resolution, and 
though it was only that of a young girl, yet 
it never altered, and often stood Gernldine 
in good stead in the days that came after. 


04 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


CHAPTER VII. 

Some few days after Lord Ratlimore’s 
ball. Lady Moretouu called upon Mrs. For- 
dyce. To the latter’s chagrin, however, she 
was out at the time, but the sight of the cards 
on the hall table which greeted her on her 
return from a drive caused her much saLisf ac- 
tion. Had she guessed at the reason of the 
visit there is just the chance that she might 
have been less pleased. The truth was. Lady 
Moretoun had taken a fancy to Geraldine at 
first sight, and she thought the girl would be 
pleasant company for her sometim.es when 
she drove in the park or was obliged to ap- 
X)ear at parties to which her husband did not 
care to go. So she chose a day Avhen she 
hoped Mrs. Fordyce might be out, like every 
one else, enjoying the air and sunshine, and 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


95 


left her cards, congratulating lierself as she 
drove away on her ingenuity. “ Plain Mr, 
Smith” had often laughed over Mrs. For- 
dyce’s eccentricities with his wife, and Lady 
Moretoun was too true a wife ever to forget a 
slight to her husband. Before Mrs. Fordyce 
had had time to return the call. Lord More- 
toun came himself one day with a message 
from his wife asking whether Geraldine 
might be allowed to return with him to dine 
and go to the theatre. 

“ Certainly she may,” her aunt replied, i)ut- 
ting into her tones as she gave the desiretl 
j)ermission as much cordiality as was possi- 
ble under the circumstances. 

“Then will you come now,” Miss Gerry, 
he said, “ or, at least, in a few minutes, which 
I suppose you must be allowed to go through 
that mysterious operation which you young 
ladies call ‘dressing?’ Can you be ready in 
ten minutes, as my wife was very particular 


9G 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


in lier injunctions to produce you in her draw- 
ing-room at six? ” 

“I will lly,” said Geraldine, and disap- 
peared hastily, leaving her aunt in solitaiy 
l)OSsession of the visitor. However, Mrs. 
Fordyce talked social i^latitudes to him with- 
out a i)ause until her niece returned, and 
then, with a sigh of relief, Lord Moretoun 
took his departure, vowing that no persua- 
sion of his wife’s should in future bring him 
to sx)end half an hour in the mansion he had 
just quitted. 

“ You owe me a great deal. Miss Gerry,” 
he thought to himself, “but next time we 
will send a note.” 

“ Ah, you have got the young lady, Ber- 
tie,” his wife remarked when the two made 
their appearance a little before six. “ I am 
so glad you were able to come! ” she said to 
Geraldine. “ It was my husband’s fault that 
you did not get the invitation sooner, but he 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


97 


would not decide whether we were to go or 
not, and in fact I really think it was niy sug- 
gesting that yon should come that eventually 
bore weight with him and enabled him to 
decide. AVe have got a box at the Ilaymar- 
ket, and the rest of the party consists of 
three men. AA^ill you mind having to talk 
to two at once? ” 

“Not she, Joan,” said her husband; “un- 
less Miss Gerry is very much altered, I would 
back her to talk to six men at once, and 
keep them amused, too, into the bargain. I 
prophesy great conquests for her to-night, 
and ” 

“ Cai)tain Graham,” announced the servant 
at this point, and Lady Moretoun rose from 
her seat and advanced to meet the new-comer, 
a tall, fair, soldierly looking man of about 
thirty-five years of age. 

Lady Moretoun introduced him to Ger- 
aldine. “ Miss Fane’s parents are in India,” 
7 


98 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


she said ; “ I wonder whether yon know them? 
People in India generally do seem to know 
each other.” 

Some one else was announced at this junc- 
ture, so Caiitain Graham subsided into a 
chair by the side of the girl and began talk- 
ing to her. 

“Funnily enough,” he said, “I have just 
come from Aji)ur, where there are some 
Fanes, a colonel and his wife, the dearest 
souls in the world.” 

“They are my joeople,” said Geraldine 
delightedly, “ and I am going out to Aj i)ur 
at the end of this year. My mother is com- 
ing home in Sex)tember, and will take me 
back with her.” 

“ So much the better for Ajpur,” said her 
new friend, and then he began telling her all 
about the i)lace and peoj)le, naturally a most 
interesting toi^ic to the girl. 

She was quite sorry when the dinner came 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


99 


to an end. Captain Graham had taken her 
down, and they had got on wonderfully the 
whole time. Something in his face reminded 
Geraldine of her friend Dorothy, but she 
could not quite make out what it was, 
whether the eyes were like or the shape of 
the face. She confided the fact to him dur- 
ing dinner, and asked him whether he had 
any relations of the name of Villiers. 

“ None that I am aware of,” he said. “ But 
I hox^e that the young lady whom you say I 
am like is a pattern of all that is beautiful. 
It would agitate me so much if I ever met her 
and found she did not come up to the mark.” 

‘‘ How vain ! ” said Gerry. “ But I could 
not possibly describe her to you now that 
I have committed myself in saying you re- 
mind me of her. You are almost certain to 
see her, and then you can judge for yourself. 
Meanwhile I shall leave you to your own 
imagination regarding her.” 


100 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“ But where does the certainty of my see- 
ing your friend come in? ” he asked. 

“Dorothy will very likely come out to 
India with me — to Ajpur, that is to say —if 
her guardian and my mother come to i^eace- 
able terms over the arrangement.” 

“What! two young ladies in Ajpur? 
Carry me out and bury me decently, for the 
world must be coming to an end,” said the 
young man. “ My dear Miss Fane, you over- 
whelm me. Young ladies are utterly un- 
known blessings in that hapx)y sx)ot. Until 
your mother came to make us feel that life 
was still Avorth living, no ladies of any kind 
had ever been known to live there, and now 
you tell me that two are coming! Can’t you 
understand what a surxnise it is to one? ” 

“ Perhaps,” said Geraldine. “ But after all, 
because a thing has never hax)i)ened, that is 
no reason why it should never hai^xAen, is it? 
The world would have come to an end long 



THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


101 


ago if our ancestors liad acted ui^on those 
conservative theories. Besides, what is there 
in AJpur to keej) ladies away?” 

“ It is not so much what there is in it, Miss 
Fane, but what there is not,^' said her friend. 
“ In the first place, there are no shojis, and I 
believe most ladies, or at any rate most young 
ladies, are miserable without them. Then 
there is no societj^, because your father and 
mother and one British officer are the only 
white folks in the place; therefore you must 
not look forward to balls and dinner-parties 
when you go to Ajpur, or you will be doomed 
to bitter disappointment.” 

“ Ah, but you see we are not going to stay 
there all the year round,” the girl replied. 
“ Mother has promised to take us to the hills 
during the summer, which, from what she 
has told me, ought to make up for any 
amount of dull winters.” 

“ In that case,” responded Captain Graham, 


102 


THE POWER OF AH EYE. 


“ there will be nothing left for yon to wish 
for. Ajpur is jolly enough in the winter if 
you care for riding and being out in the open 
air. Your mother loves camj) life; so you 
ought to like it too if you are a true daughter 
of hers.” 

“ Tell me all about the house I shall live in, 
and everything,” said Geraldine, and the two 
chatted on for the rest of the meal. 

“ You have monopolized that young woman 
disgracefully, Captain Graham,” his hostess 
snid to him as she rose to leave the dining- 
room. 

“Forgive me, dear Lady Moretoun; but 
she is so delightfully fresh and young that 
one cannot help being charmed by her; and 
then, you know, I find I know her parents ; 
indeed. Colonel Fane is my commanding 
officer; so you see ” 

Lady Moretoun smiled good-naturedly at 
him over his explanation, and shortly after- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


103 


ward the whole party started off to the 
theatre. 

Alter that evening Geraldine frequently 
met Captain Graham at i^arties or at her 
aunt’s house. For when she knew him bet- 
ter she introduced him to Mrs. Fordj’ce, who, 
finding that he was more or less an eligible, 
had made herself very agreeable to him when 
he asked to be allowed to call upon her. 

Geraldine liked him very much, and, even 
more, she found herself looking forward to 
her aunt’s “ at home ” daj^s, when there was a 
chance of his turning up, and when he did 
not do so she was conscious of a strong feel- 
ing of disappointment. She had introduced 
Dorothy to him very soon after she first be- 
came acquainted with him; but Dorothy 
had never evinced very great interest in 
Captain Graham, or given her opinion about 
him. The two girls had seen a great deal of 
each other during the season. Mrs. Fordj^ce 


104 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


had been prevailed 114)011 by her husband to 
call upon the Kegans, and in her curious way 
she had been kind to Dorothy. That is to 
say, she took the girl about with her niece, 
and introduced her to those men whom she 
considered not quite eligible enough for Ger- 
aldine. 

They had gone to almost everything dur- 
ing the season. The Derby, Ilurlingham, 
Ascot, Henley — nothing had come amiss to 
them, and they had enjoyed everything with 
that eager zest which almost every young 
girl feels on lirst “coming out.” No season 
would ever bo to them like their first. The 
time is not long in coming when everjThing 
palls iqion one, when we look at the lights 
and the (lowers and listen to the music with 
din’ercnt thoughts in our hearts and different 
plans for the future. Instead of the delicious 
castles in the nir which a first dance and a 
lirst “ season ” con jure up in our imaginaf ion. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


105 


we learn to lay down sober intents and pur- 
poses upon "w liicli we make up our minds to 
build the fabric of our lives. And yet of the 
two, the castles in the air are very often the 
outcome of innocent feelings and pure de- 
sires, and the pity of it is that the fall of the 
former so often destro3^s the latter. 


lOG 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Dorothy, in her old-fashioned dreaming,' 
used sometimes to wonder whether the years 
to come could possibly be as happy as the 
])resent. Everything seemed rose-tinted, and 
the girl never learned to take all the happi- 
ness which fell to her lot in those days with- 
out asking herself if it were i)ossible that 
such a state of things could last. She had 
been brought up in her early days in a very 
different school to Geraldine, who took every- 
tliing as it came as a matter of course, and 
into wliose head the idea never entered that 
every happiness must be bought at a price. 
She went through those happy summer 
months just as a young foal might go through 
its first spring— young, happy, and careless of 
the future. Quite right, too, for young things 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


107 


that it should be so, and Dorothy was no ex- 
ception. July drew to a close, and in the 
Regans’ home there was a great bustle and 
excitement, for the yearly exodus to the sea 
was about to take x^lace, and in a few days 
the great house in Portman Square would be 
abandoned, and assume its brown Holland 
coverings Avithin and close its shutters with- 
out. Mrs. Regan had invited Geraldine to 
X^ay them a long visit at their x^lace in Corn- 
wall, and Dorothy was delighted at the idea 
of having her friend for so many weeks to- 
gether. She Avas not looking forward to 
Mrs. Fane’s coming home, for she Avas afraid 
that it Avould mean Geraldine’s going away 
to India for a time. She never liked to think 
Avhether she vA’ould be able to go too or not. 
She knew Geraldine had set her heart on her 
going, but there seemed so mnny difficulties 
in the AAmy of it. They had talked it oA’er fre- 
quently together, and Gerry always seemed 


108 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


hopeful. Mrs. Fane was to arrive about the 
end of September, and her daughter was 
counting the days till she should come. 

The last week in July arrived at last, and 
one fine morning the Ri'gan family left Lon- 
don, accompanied by both girls. Geraldine 
was not as well as she had been when she 
had come to her aunt in April. The long 
daj^s and late hours had deprived her cheeks 
of some of their roses. Dorothy suspected 
another reason for her friend’s indisposition 
and loss of appetite, though Geraldine sternly 
denied the allegation. Captain Graham had 
been a frequent visitor at the Fordyces’ house, 
and Geraldine, in her inmost lieait, knew 
that the days upon which he came were 
those most looked forward to, and most re- 
gretted when they had gone. But though 
Mrs. Fordyce had given her bosom friends 
to understand that something was to be ex- 
pected from the captain’s frequent atteii- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. . 109 


tions, nothing had come of it up to the pres- 
ent. His leave would shortly expire, and 
then he would have to return to India. Ger- 
aldine had bidden him a sort of farewell in 
town before she left. They had met at a 
dance, and he had spoken about his approach- 
ing departure — spoken lightly and carelessly 
of it, as he would have done had he been 
talking to some man friend of whom he was 
fond. And Geraldine had listened with a 
great i)ain in her heart and a smile on her 
lips. After all, she reasoned, he had never 
asked her to care for him. She had done so 
entirely of her own accord, and she knew 
that unless he asked her for the affection 
which she had already given him, she must 
never let him knoAV that it existed. So she 
forced herself to smile gayly, and to talk over 
the chances of their meeting again in Ajpur. 
Captain Graham had no idea where he would 
be sent to when he should arrive in India 


110 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


again. There was a ^possibility of his return- 
ing to Ajpur, in which case he could safely 
count upon meeting Geraldine again. But, 
on the other hand, there was an expedition 
in southern India about to take place, and 
he had great hopes of being out again in time 
to join it. So he chatted on, and Geraldine 
entered into all his hopes and plans as 
heartily as Dorothy would have done under 
the circumstances. 

Captain Graham had grown very fond of 
the girl, but his liking for her was only that 
of a brother for a sister, and he never thought 
that she would grow to care for him in any 
other way. Indeed, it never entered his head 
tiiat she would really care for him at all. 
He knew she liked him, and she never wor- 
ried him. Whatever he talked about she 
had always understood, and her thoughts 
and ideas, as she told them to him in her 
simple way, never jarred upon him, even 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


Ill 


tliougli at times they were widely different 
to his own. He had always been certain of 
a welcome from her, and he liked talking to 
her; hence the reason of his frequent visits ; 
but he had never liirted with the girl or 
talked nonsense to her, and Geraldine knew 
that he had never, by word or deed, given 
her to suppose that his liking for her was 
based upon anything but feelings of friend- 
ship. Of the true state of her own heart she 
had had no delinite idea until now, when he 
was talking of going back to India. Then 
slie awoke to the fact that she had grown 
to look for his coming, and that this one 
man’s presence was needful to her haiqnness. 
Only she resolved he must never know it. 
So she laughed that night as merrily as ever, 
treated his going away with utter careless- 
ness, and made him feel a little hurt in the 
end at her not having said even tliat she 
would miss him. 


112 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


At the entl of the dance he had tid;.en lier 
out to the carriage. 

“ I’m afraid I shall not see you again, Miss 
Fane. You go away in three days’ time, and 
I sail next week. We ought to have drunk 
to our next merry meeting, ought we not? ’’ 

“ Yes, our next merry meeliiig,” Geraldine 
said; ‘‘where and when will that be, I won- 
der? Perhaps it won’t be at all, though, and 
then we should have had our drink in vain, 
shouldn’t we? ” 

“ Perhaps, perhai)S. However, I shall hope 
to see you in India some day, and you too. 
Miss Villiers,” he said, turning to Dorothy, 
who had gone to the ball with the For- 
dyces. 

“ I hope so, too. Captain Graham. Good- 
by,” and the carriage was out of sight in a 
few moments. 

“ The lirst time she has failed me, by Jove,” 
he muttered to himself; “never even said 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


113 


slie would miss me. She might have done 
lhat, at any rate. However, she’s a dear, 
good little girl, for all that, and I wouldn’t 
have her different.” Then his thoughts 
turned to Dorothy, whom he greatly admired, 
and for the rest of that night it was Dorothy’s 
eyes and Dorothy’s white throat and coppery 
hair that haunted him, not poor little Ger- 
aldine’s pretty face. 

And while he was thinking of her friend, 
Gerry was stilling down a strong feeling 
of misery which would rise from her heart 
and threaten to overcome her. She was 
glad to think that she was to go away with 
the Regans and Dorothy. Change would 
do her good, she thought, and then wh^n 
she returned to town the destroyer of her 
peace would be no longer there, and she 
would recover her senses, and keep them in 
hand better for the future. 

But wlieii, a few days later, there came a 


114 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


letter from liim, wishing her farewell, the 
girl broke down utterly, though no one knew 
it. She laughed over his having written to 
her, with Dorothy, but her oAvn room wit- 
nessed a very different scene, and for some 
days she lost all her high sjurits, much to 
Mrs. Regan’s dismay, who began to fear that 
the place did not agree with her. 

If Dorothy had her own ideas on the sub- 
ject, she kei^t them to herself, and after a 
while Geraldine’s naturally bright, sunny 
nature reasserted itself, and her friend con- 
cluded that she had made a mistake. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


115 


CHAPTER IX. 

Toward tlie close of Sei)teniber Mrs. Pane 
arrived in England. Geraldine met her 
mother at the docks and conveyed her to the 
Fordyces’ house in trinmph, where her aunt 
was ready to receive her. The sisters greeted 
each other with great affection, and Mrs. 
Fordyce forgot her i)osition, her smart friends, 
and all the many 2>oints upon which she 
prided herself, to give up her time and her 
own pursuits to her sister. 

As for Geraldine, no words could i)aint 
her delight at her inotheFs return. She 
waited on her hand and foot, attentions 
which to Mrs. Fane were more valuable than 
anything else in the world. Doroth}' had 
been presented to her shortly after her arri- 
val, and in a month’s time Mrs. Fane had 


116 THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

formed her opinion as to the advisability of 
her taking the girl with her own daughter 
back to India, if she would consent to the 
arrangement. 

So one day when Dorothy had been 
spending the evening with them, Mrs. Fane 
broached the subject. She put everything 
very clearly before her, pointing out all the 
many disadvantages of the place, and rather 
underrating its advantages, as she did not 
wish Dorothy to get any false ideas of what 
the life would be into her head. Dorothy 
longed to go ; she had always wished to go 
to India. It was the country of her birth, 
where her father and mother had lived, and 
she thought she might perhaps learn some- 
thing about her father if she w^ent out. In 
addition to this, her friendship) for Geraldine 
was of such long standing that the girl 
dreaded having to part from her; she was 
fonder of her than many sisters are of each 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


117 


other, and she had taken a great liking to 
Mrs. Fane ; so altogether the prosioect of mak- 
ing her home with them for a time in India 
seemed a very delightful one. 

She told Mrs. Fane exactly what she felt 
about it, and the result was that, about six 
weeks before Geraldine was to sail, her 
mother paid a visit to the Regans in Portman 
Square. 

She was closeted with the lawyer for more 
than an hour, at the end of which Dorothy 
was summoned to her guardian’s study. 

“ Well, my dear,” said the old man, kindly, 
“ I hear you want to leave us all here and go 
to India with your friend Miss Fane. Is 
that so? ” 

“ Yes,” replied Dorothy, “but only if you 
have no objection to my going, and will let 
me come back again when Mrs. Fane comes 
home. You must not think, dear guardian, 
that I want to leave you. But you know 


118 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


Gerry is very dear to me, and the prospect 
of India very exciting. But I know this is 
my home here, and I will not leave it unless 
I know that you will keep my x^lace for me 
always, just as you have done since you first 
took me ; and if you do not like my going, 
I would not go for anything in the world. 
My first duty is to you, who have always 
been so good to me, and your wishes in a 
matter of this sort are of course mine. I 
know Mrs. Fane will understand me.” 

“ My dear,” said the lawyer, “ I think it is 
an excellent idea that you should go to India 
with your friends, and see something of 
other lands before you return, as I trust you 
will, to us. I do not say we are glad for you 
to go, because you are to us as one of our 
own, and to part with you even for a time 
will give neither my wife nor myself pleas- 
ure. But, on the other hand, I am sure you 
will be well taken care of with Mrs. Fane, 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


110 


whose husband I have had the pleasure of 
knowing for some years, and I give you my 
liearty consent to the plan.” 

“ IIow can I thank you for your goodness 
to me?” said Dorothy, and she went uj) to 
her guardian and kissed him. 

“ We will take every care of her,” Mrs. 
Fane interposed, “and you shall have her 
back, God willing, in two years. I thank 
you for lending to me another daughter for 
the time being, and Geraldine a sister. I 
think we have settled everything satisfac- 
toril}", so I will not take up any- more of 
yoiir time jnst now. I will see you again 
later on if you can sx)are me an hour or so, 
and meanwhile I will leave Dorothy in Mrs. 
Regan’s hands, who will, I am sure, get her 
everything she requires as regards outfit, etc.” 

Shortly afterw^ard, Mrs. Fane took her 
leave, leaving Dorothy with her guardian to 
talk matters over. 


120 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“ As we have decided the main point, my 
dear,” he said to her, “ I think I had better 
inform yon as regards the i^articnlars of the 
arrangement. I have asked Mrs. Fane to 
allow yon to pay yonr exx^enses from time 
to time while you remain with her, and of 
course your x^^issage out to India. You are 
a young lady of means, and as such I am 
sure you would not care to live for so long 
with j^our friends at their exx^ense.” 

“Most certainly not,” said Dorothy, em- 
Xdiatically; “that was always the sore x'*oint 
when Gerry and I talked the matter over. I 
am glad you have managed that arrange- 
ment for me, as you are quite right in think- 
ing that I would not go on any other terms.” 

“Exactly, exactly,” replied her guardian. 
“ Then there is the question of outfit, and 
what things it will be necessary that you 
should have; I will get my wife to write to 
Mrs. Fane and ask her for some ideas on the 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


121 


subject. Meanwhile I don’t think there is 
anything more to be gone into at present. I 
have already told my wife that there was 
some idea of your going out to India, and 
now I think jmu had better go and tell her 
the matter is definitely settled.” 

“ It is not an easy task,” the girl answered, 
wistfully. 

“No, my dear, no — I am aware that it is 
not. Suppose I come with you and help 
you out with it. Will that make it easier? ” 
“You are a dear,” said Dorothy; “it will 
make all the difference.” 

So the two went together to seek out Mrs. 
Regan, and her husband told her the news. 
She did not pretend to like the idea, but she 
knew it would be a delightful thing for Doro- 
thy to see India and travel about a little, so 
she put no difficulties in the waj^ 

The next few weeks flew like lightning. 
Both the girls were in a whirl of shopping. 


122 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


and saw less of each other than they had 
done before. Mrs, Fane had arranged to sail 
again in the second week of November, and 
the time between the end of September and 
the day which was to see Gerry and her 
friend leave England seemed to be gone in a 
moment. Dorothy felt saying good-by to 
the Regans, and many were the tears wept 
over her, until she almost felt sorry that she 
had promised to go. 

Her guardian came down to the docks with 
her, where she was to meet Mrs. Fane and 
her daughter, but Mrs. Regan bade her good- 
by at home. 

“ God bless yon, my dear child,” she said, 
“ and bring yon back to ns again the same 
sweet, unspoiled Dorothy that we have 
always known. Write to ns often, and do 
not let new friends take the place of the old 
ones.” 

Dorothy could not answer her, only she 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 123 

threw her arms round her and kissed her, 
while the tears that would not be kept back 
streamed down her face. 

Mrs. Regan watched her from the window 
as she got into the carriage with her guardian 
and was driven rapidly away; and tlien the 
good woman turned away, Avith tears in her 
own eyes, and Avent upstairs to comfort little 
Martin, Avho AA-as sobbing OA^er the loss of his 
oAvn particular friend and champion. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Fordjme came Avith the Fanes 
to the steamer. Mrs. Fordj^ce AA^ent on board 
and inspected her sister’s cabin, and en- 
deavored to give the other passengers, not 
to mention the captain himself, some idea of 
her social importance. Gerry AA^as full of ex- 
citement over everything, and more like her 
old self again. She Avas delighted that the 
time had really arrived for her to start for 
India, and she had no very serious fareAA^ells 
to make before leaving. Her uncle had pre- 


124 


THE POWER OF AH EYE. 


sented her with a beautiful i;)earl necklace as 
a parting gift. He was very sorry to lose 
his niece. The house would resume its nor- 
mal condition of dignity and dulness, and 
the jiresence of a bright young spirit in his 
stately home would be terribly missed. 

The time came at last for the passengers’ 
friends to quit the vessel, and the Fordyces 
were almost the first to go, “ to escape the 
vulgar crowd,” as her aunt said to Gerry. 

It was not until Mr. Regan’s kindly face 
had really gone that Dorothy realized her 
new position. She watched him as he went 
away, with very mingled feelings, and even 
Geraldine became quiet and thoughtful for 
a little while. 

Their first dinner on board amused the two 
girls not a little. They had managed to se- 
cure places at the captain’s table, and that 
officer looked after their comforts himself. 
There was a man sitting opposite Dorothy 


• THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


125 


who attracted her attention from the first, 
tie was a very curious person to look at, and 
every one was trying to find out something 
about him, though without success; even the 
captain knew nothing more than that his 
name was Ebenhart, and that he was x^artly 
German, lie was tall and thin, with a ca- 
daverous exx)ression, and smooth black hair 
which he allowed to grow rather long. But 
his eyes were the feature in his face which 
attracted every one’s attention. They were 
large and deex)ly set in his head. Their 
color might have been anything, and some 
X)eox'>le said they were blue, others black. 
They were very dark, whatever color they 
were, and glowed like live coals. He had a 
curious manner of looking at i^eople. He 
would keep his head bent and his eyes look- 
ing down for some time, and then suddenly 
raise them and fix his gaze on whatever ob- 
ject had attracted his attention, with a per- 


126 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


sistency which some peoi^le affirmed was 
uncanny. Geraldine grew quite uncomfor- 
table over it, and whispered her fears to Doro- 
thy that the man was mad. 

“ I wish he had not come to this table,” 
the girl said to her friend. “ I can’t bear to 
look at him, and yet I feel a sort of fasci- 
nation coming over me wliich I can’t resist, 
and find myself continually staring at him. 
What is there about him that makes him 
so queer? ” 

“I don’t think there is anything, dear,” 
said Dorothy, “ excei)t that he has an ugly 
face, and his hair is frightful. And yet I 
don’t know whether one could call him 
really ugly,” she went on, “his expression 
is so curious.” 

At this moment the dinner came to an end, 
and the man in question was the first to 
leave the saloon. 

“ Curious cliaj), that,” muttered a man sit- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


VZl 


ting next to the cai)tiiiii. “ Wlio is he, cap- 
tain? I can’t say I quite like the looks of 
him.” 

“ His name is Ebenhart, and I believe he is 
a German, but I can’t tell you more about 
him just now,” answered the cai)tain. “I 
never know much about my passengers at 
the beginning of a voyage, and of some of 
them I know just as little at the end. But 
I’ll see whether I can’t mid^e something out 
of this one. He’s a curious-looking chap, as 
you say, and so I’ll make it my business to 
find out something about him.” 

When Mrs. Fane and her charges went on 
deck, the man about whom the above discus- 
sion had taken i)lace was pacing up and 
down the vessel with his hands clasped be- 
hind him. His walk was as curious as the 
rest of him. He seemed to be moving slowly, 
and yet he took half as long to reach the end 
of the deck and return as did most of the 


128 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


other i^assengers engaged in a similar occii- 
X)ation. Altogether he was a curious com- 
X)ound, and Geraldine was quite glad when 
her mother suggested retiring to the cabin 
for the night. 

“We are to sail at daybreak,” she said, 
“and for an hour or two before we start 
there will be such a noise going on OA’erhead 
that we shall all be disturbed. So I think 
we had better get all the sleej) we can now.” 

As the three ladies Avere descending to the 
saloon, the cax)tain met them. 

“Are you ladies good sailors?” he said, 
smiling. “ Because we start at daylight, and 
then the fun begins.” 

“Do not talk of it, captain!” Mrs. Fane 
replied. “I am alwaj^s a wreck on these 
occasions, but we must hope for better things 
from my young XAeo^de.” 

“ Quite so. You are wise in going off enrly 
to-night. I hope your lirst night on board 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


129 


ship will be a pleasing experience, young 
ladies. Good-night to you.” 

In a very short time the girls were asleep, 
and Mrs. Fane was not long in following 

their exami^le. 

9 


130 


THE POWER OF AN EYE, 


CHAPTER X. 

“ My dear, I don’t like your friend! ” Ger- 
aldine gave vent to the remark with much 
emphasis. She was half-sitting, half-lying, 
in a long cane deck-chair, supporting herself 
on a j)ile of cushions, with a half -read novel 
in her hand. “Do you hear, Dollie,” she 
went on, “or are you asleep? I thought I 
heard some one snoring just now. I don’t 
like your friend ! ” 

“ Poor friend ! ” said her companion. “ My 
dear Gerry, it is really too hot to dislike 
any one ; but it is equally unreasonable on 
your part to dislike poor Mr. Ebenhart. 
What has he done? ” 

“ Done I ” echoed Geraldine. “ Done, did 
you say? Why, my dear Dollie, what 
hasn’t that wretched foreigner done? He 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


131 


has absorbed all your attention ever since 
this voyage commenced. When you are not 
talking to him, you are reading absurd books 
that he lends you, and I know you are 
always thinking about him. Now, be hon- 
est! Are you not?” 

“ Most certainly not,” Dorothy replied de- 
cisively. “ I look on Ilerr Ebenhart as a 
means for an end. In other words, he has 
jmt me in the way of studying a subject in 
which I have always had a great interest. 
You, I know, do not believe in it, and there- 
fore you think it is all rubbish; but you are 
quite wrong, my dear, and I have a feeling 
that somehow, sooner or later, the knowledge 
of all this may be of great use to me. That 
I have a certain wonderful will-power within 
me, I am quite assured of ; and if by study- 
ing these books, and learning all I can about 
the subject, I find myself able to use that 
power, I shall feel rewarded.” 


133 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


I tliink you can use it quite well enough 
as it is, you dear old wiseacre. I shall not 
forget the fright you gave that odious young 
man the other day, when you fixed him with 
your cold and glassy eye, and caused him to 
leave the deck and retire to his cabin imme- 
diately after dinner, instead of sitting up 
hours after every one else, drinking. I heard 
him telling some one the next morning about 
you, and he said that what with you and 
Ilerr Ebenhart the ship’s atmosphere was 
quite uncanny. However, your hypnotism, 
or whatever else you like to call it, did us 
real good service tliat time. I hope you 
have noticed how he has since avoided not 
only yourself, but mother and me too. I 
supx)ose he thinks that we, though lesser 
lights, belong to the same weird society. So 
much the better ! ” 

“Yes, I know I used my power with great 
effect upon him,” said Dorothy, smiling. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


133 


“but that is not the first time T liav^e made 
people do what I want them to. Only un- 
less I can fix them, as you flix)pantly express 
it, with my ‘ cold and glassy eye,’ I do not 
have the same i)ower at all over them. It is 
possible, I believe, to will a i3erson to do a 
thing without being close enough to stare at 
them as I do, but as yet I know so little 
about the matter.” 

“ There is only one thing I beg of you, 
dearest Dollie,” broke in her friend at this 
moment. “Don’t, I pray you, practise on 
me. I give in to you entirely, because I have 
very little doubt that you could make me 
do anything you liked. But if you practised 
on me as you did on that unhaj)py youth, I 
should fly at your approach. Now, don’t 
you think you have studied that wretched 
book long enough? Come and walk to the 
end of the deck and see whether there is any 
breeze to be found there. This heat is stifling.” 


134 . THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

So the two got up and strolled slowly to 
the far end of the ship. It certainly was 
hot, and even though the sun was nearly set- 
ting, there seemed no liercei^tible difference 
in the temperature. The Ramnna was in 
the Red Sea, puffing along, with every atom 
of breeze behind her, and the surface of the 
water like oil. In the early stages of the ' 
voyage evei-y one had been very energetic. 
Tournamenfs, sweeytstakes, dances, and con- 
certs had been the order of the march, but 
with the journey through the Red Sea all 
such festive entertainments had been allowed 
to subside. No one felt any desire to cut 
capers about the deck with the thermometer 
at 100 d(>grees, and even the one or two lively 
spirits generally to be met with on board a 
P. and O. had to content themselves with 
playing a dismal game of leap-frog over each 
other, and eventually collajised, and were 
never known to display any more energy 


THE POWER OF AN BYE. 135 

of any kind for the remainder of the voy- 
age. 

The two girls had made friends with some 
of their fellow-passengers, and among these 
was the man who had attracted their atten- 
tion at their first dinner on board ship. The 
caidain had not taken long before he found 
out something of the gentleman’s antece- 
dents and calling. Indeed, the latter had 
talven no pains to conceal them, and before 
many days were over every one on board 
knew that Herr Ebenhart, as he was called, 
was a h5q')notist, and that he was of German 
extraction, though he spoke English per- 
fectly. He had become acquainted with the 
Fanes l)y joining in the conversation that 
went on at the captain’s table during meal- 
times, and he aroused all Dorothy’s interest 
in the occult arts by lending her curious 
books upon the subject and relating to her 
his own wonderful experiences. A certain 


136 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


amount of such knowledge liad been hers 
already, but she dived into the mysteries of 
which he talked, with that eagerness only 
possessed by a devout believer. 

Dorothy owned one of those powerful wills 
which, if exerted over others, seldom fail to 
bring about the result desired. But slie was 
only just beginning to understand what her 
mesmeric influence on a weaker will could 
X)erform. The young man about whom Ger- 
aldine had spoken had annoyed the two girls 
very much by forcing his acquaintance upon 
them. He frequently took up a position close 
to them on deck, jind then from his coign of 
vantage commenced a conversation, wholly 
uninteresting and undesired by^ either of his 
victi ms. 

“That young man annoys me,” Dorothy 
said one evening after dinner to Ilerr Eben- 
hart. “ I wish I knew how to get rid of 
him.” 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


137 


“ Quite easy, Miss Villiers,” lie answered. 
“ Why do you not try the jiower of your 
will over his? Will him to go away — any- 
where, to his cabin, to the saloon, overboard 
if you wish, and see what the effect is.” 

“ Do you really think that I could get rid 
of that man in that waj"? ” Dorothy asked in 
amazement. “ T never thought of trying, but, 
now that you have put it into my head, I 
really will try; at any rate, it is an experi- 
ment.” 

So the next night, when the undesirable 
addition to the party had again taken up 
what he considered an advantageous post 
for the evening, Dorothy made her attempt. 
She sat with the light on her face, in front 
of him, and the whole time he talked to her 
friend she never took her eyes off him. He 
broke off in the story he was telling, and 
fidgeted about in his chair, coughing every 
now and then, and shifted his gaze nervously 


138 THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

from one girl to the other. Then he tried 
to go on with his story, but ended by leaving 
half untold. Then he grew silent, and at 
last got up, made some excuse, and hastily 
dei)arted to his own cabin, from which he 
did not emerge until late the following morn- 
ing; and never after that did he address one 
syllable to either of the party, but showed 
the most eager desire to avoid them one and 
all. Ebenhart congratulated Dorothy on lier 
success, and it made the girl more eager than 
before. 

Two days later, the steamer arrived at 
Aden, and most of the passengers went on 
shore to avoid the coaling operations. As 
soon as the vessel arrived in the harbor, she 
was boarded by innumerable little urchins, 
who gain their living by diving for coins 
thrown into the water by the passengers. 
Curious little ruffians they are for the most 
l)art, and many of them mere babies. One 


THE POWER OF AN EYE, 139 

in particular got much symxmtliy from Ger- 
aldine. He was a little fellow of not more 
than seven years old at the most, and under- 
sized for his age. Ilis naturally black hair 
had become yellow from constant contact 
with the salt water, and curled all round his 
quaint little face. 

He, like the rest of his companions, wore 
only the merest apology for clothes, and one 
lady on the ship expressed her disgust at 
tlieir being allowed to come on board in such 
scanty attire. 

She was a lady of a certain age, on her 
way out to Bombay to be married to an 
elderly widower, to whom she had, if rei)ort 
was to be believed, been engaged in her early 
youth. Had one been ignorant of what fate 
was in store for her, one might have described 
her as an old maid of the most severe order. 
But as she was going to get married, she 
considered herself of fitting age and tastes to 


140 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


become a desirable companion for Geraldine 
and Dorothy. 

Slio was standing beside the former when 
the little negro boys invaded the ship. She 
had been rhapsodizing on the blueness of the 
ocean and the azure tint of the sky, when 
she was rudely interrupted by feeling a 
timid touch on her arm, and seeing a simall, 
wet, eager face gazing up into her own eldeily, 
ugly countenance, with a request that some 
one might “ have a dive.” Wliether the lit- 
lle raven-skinned urchin intended Aliss INfa- 
tilda Marmaduke to ” have a dive,” or wished 
to go through that performance on his own 
account, was a hidden mystery from his 
manner of speech. He nodded in a friendly 
way to Miss Matilda, and winked the salt 
water off his eyelashes. “ Have a dive — 
have a dive — from the top of vessel, ma’am, 
from the top of vessel I go — I go — have a 
dive. Have a dive! ” 


THE POWER OF AN, EYE. 141 

Miss Matilda gathered uj) her skirts around 
her, and preiDared for a hasty retreat. 

•“Go away, you indecent little creature,” 
she said in irate tones, looking at the small 
offender as though he were guilty of a caj)!- 
tal crime. “ How dare you come and talk to 
ladies like that— go away — go away.” Then 
she turned to Geraldine, who was overcome 
with laughter at the incident. “ Don’t you 
think it is disgraceful of the cai)tain to allow 
such a thing? ” she said. “ I shall go down to 
my cabin at once, and remain there until 
these horrid little black creatures have gone. 
Are you not coming, too?” 

“ Dear me, no,” said Gerry, between peals 
of laughter. “ I wouldn’t miss the fun of 
seeing them for anything. I think they are 
very amusing, and after all they are very 
clean.” 

“They are very abominable,” said Miss 
Matilda; “I shall go at once to my cabin. 


142 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


where I shall not be obliged to see such 
sights.” So away she toddled rapidly, and 
the little boy accosted Geraldine instead 
with his “ Have a dive, missee? ” 

She had not got her purse with her, so tell- 
ing him to wait until she came back she ran 
downstairs to fetch some money from the 
cabin. As she entered the saloon, a i)iercing 
squeal from No. 20 cabin arrested her onward 
course, and made her run to the door from 
out of which it had come, and see what was 
the matter. 

Only Miss Matilda, in an almost fainting 
condition on her bed, and a little, black, 
grinning figure half in and half out of the 
X^ort-hole window. Geraldine gave the child 
a coin to dive for, and then closed and fas- 
tened the aperture through which he had 
attempted to intrude his small half-clothed 
person, to the annoyance of Miss Matilda. 

“ It is a disgrace,” she wailed ; “ and to think 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


143 


that not even in one’s own cabin is one safe 
from such sights and sounds. I shall tell 
Robert when I arrive at Bombay to make a 
complaint about the captain at the P. and 0. 
office.” 

However, on finding that no more molesta- 
tions of a similar kind could take place, she 
allowed Geraldine to return to the deck, 
where the girl came across Dorothy, and the 
two amused themselves with the little divers 
until Mrs. Fane suggested going on shore. 
Geraldine related the story of Miss Matilda’s 
discomfiture with much gusto to the rest 
of the party, and all shouted with laughter 
over the narration. 


144 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


CHAPTER XL 

“Now I really feel as though I were in 
India,” Dorothy said trinmphaiiMy, as she 
landed from the little steani-tng which had 
conveyed the passengers on the llaGcnna to 
the shore, ddie voyage was over; it had 
^ been a hot and wearisome month, and not 
one of the three ladies could be considered a 
really good sailor. Mrs. Fane in i^articidar 
was anything but that, and her sufferings 
had been great at intervals during the whole 
time on the ship. But that part of the jour- 
ney had come to an end at last, and all were 
thankful. 

The steamer had scarcely been in harbor 
an hour before Mrs. Pane’s old bearer ap- 
jieared on deck. He had come all the way 
from Ajpur to welcome the travellers, and 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


145 


he brought letters from and news of the 
colonel, who had been unable to leave his 
post to be in Calcutta and welcome his wife 
and daughter. 

Nidi Ham Dass had been in the Fanes’ 
service for nearly twenty years. He was an 
Ooria, and belonged to a caste famous for 
their virtues as domestic servants, lie was 
getting old now, and had two sirdars under 
him who were both connected with him in 
some way, and whom he bullied unmerci- 
fully. But he was head of the household 
next to his master and mistress, and had in 
Ids hands a certain amount of power, for 
weal or woe, over every one of his fellows. 

He greeted his mistress with many salaams, 
but threw himself down at Geraldine’s feet, 
and touched the tij) of her foot. He had been 
her devoted slave from the time she was born 
until she had gone to England, and he sel- 
dom let a mail-day pass without begging 

lO 


146 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


Mrs. Fane to send his most humble salaams 
to the “Missie Baba,” as he called her at 
home. And when the news came that that 
young lady was to arrive in a few weeks’ 
time, and return to Ajpur, the old man’s de- 
light was boundless. 

“ Might it be,” he said in his quaint lan- 
guage, “ that he, the humble servant of the 
burra sahib, should go down to Calcutta and 
meet the mem sahib and the Missie Baba? 
They would need some one to look after 
them on the great and terrible journey to 
Ajpur, and who should go except the most 
humble of the burra sahib’s slaves?” 

Colonel Fane had been in great difficul- 
ties as to how to get his wile and her charges 
up to the place. Leave had been refused 
him, making it out of the question his going 
himself to meet them. But wdien the old 
bearer made his simple request. Colonel Fane 
was only too glad to grant it; he had simply 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


147 


refrained from proposing tlie plan in the first 
instance because a long journey would be 
very trying for the old man. But he knew 
that no one would look after his wife and 
daughter better than Nidi Ram Bass, so was 
glad enough to send him down to fetch them. 
The party only stayed a few days in Cal- 
cutta. It was hot, and too early in the year 
for many people to be there, and the girls were 
glad enough to start on again iq:) to their 
future home. Geraldine had questioned the 
bearer a great deal about the place, and one 
of her interrogations had cost her much 
reflection before she gave vent to it. “ Is 
Graham Sahib at Ajpuii ” she had said, with 
crimsoning cheeks. Dorothy was lying down 
in a long chair exactly in front of her as she 
asked the question, while the old servant 
stood between them waving backward and 
forward an enormous punkah. 

“Graham Sahib?” was the reply. “ Who 


148 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


can tell where Graham Sahib is? He has 
been in Ajpur, and his sei^oys are there still, 
but the sahib is a great shikari and talks of 
going away to hunt. Who knows? It is 
l^ossible he has gone already.” And the old 
man continued his work with the punkah. 

Geraldine took uj) the book she had been 
reading, and hid her face behind it. “ So 
much the better,” she was saying to herself. 
“ So much the better if he is away. Then, at 
least, I shall not be obliged to see him. I hope 
he is away. But in any case it would not 
matter. Of course it would not matter, when 
one is quite cured of all that kind of non- 
sense ; why, nothing matters at all ” 

“My sweet Gerry,” interrui^ted Dorothy, 
bringing her wise reflections to an abriq^t 
finish. “ My sw^eet Gerry, wdiat is the matter 
with your foot? You have been beating it 
uji and down on the ground all this time, 
and it really looks as though you w^ere 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


149 


afflicted with St. Vitus’ dance. Is the book 
so exasperating, or what? There is a snake- 
charmer giving a performance at the other 
end of the veranda; let us go and watch 
him. There is a lot of hypnotism in a 
snake.” 

“What nonsense, Dollie,” rejilied her 
friend, “ but we’ll go and see the serpents if 
you like.” 

So saying, the two rose from their seats 
and went to watch the performance going on 
in the veranda, which kept them fascinated 
and amused until dinner-time. 

Early next morning their final journey to 
Ajpur began. They got through the first 
stages of it on board a small steamer, and 
then there remained some sixty miles of road, 
traversed by Mrs. Fane in a dooly and by 
the girls on horseback. The road was moun- 
tainous, winding over numerous ranges of 
hills covered with forests of bamboo. Here 


150 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


and there the i^arty arrived at a village, where 
all the inhabitants would come running out 
to try and catch sight of the three English 
mem sahibs who were journeying uj) to the 
station. They offered the girls little pres- 
ents of fruit and flowers and tiny baskets 
woven by the children, and the latter were 
only too pleased to scramble for coppers 
wliich Mrs. Fane threw among them. 

“They are almost as funny as my little 
friend at Aden,” Geraldine said, laughing, 
when several dirty little urchins crowded 
round her clamoring for “ backsheesh.” 
“Would that Miss Matilda could behold 
them,” she continued. “ Why, mother dear, 
I think she would expire at once, for not 
only are these little imps equally unclothed, 
but they haven’t even the virtue of cleanli- 
ness as the others had to recommend them.” 

“ No, Gerry, they haven’t,” said Mrs. Fane; 
“ and, do you know, though I don’t agree 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 151 

with Miss Matilda’s notions of propriety, I 
don’t think I would let these ruffians come 
too near you. They are not very delightful 
in more ways than one.” 

So she scattered the group of urchins 
which had collected round the two girls, and 
the party proceeded without more ado. At 
the end of six days the girls were glad enough 
to come to the end of their journey, and the 
morning of the sixth saw them arrive at their 
destination, the Residency at Ajpur. Col- 
onel Fane rode out tv/enty miles to meet 
them, and they received a stately welcome 
from the maharajah of the State, but no 
other Europeans made their api)earance. Ger- 
aldine did not know whether she was glad 
or sorry that such was the case. She had 
thought of little else save the subject nearest 
her heart all the way, but fortunately her de- 
light at meeting her father again took away 
for the nonce all other feelings from her. 


152 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“So this is my little Gerry,” her father 
had said, gathering the girl up in his great, 
strong arms. “ AV elconie home, my little girl. 
Your old father has been counting the days 
till you should come back to the nest.” 

And then the good man turned to Dorothy, 
and bestowed a hearty welcome upon her, 
so much so that the girl took a fancy to him 
at once, and knew that he would always be 
a kind friend to her. 

The rest of the way they all chatted at 
once, and forgot the long and difficult jour- 
ney in their delight at arriving. 

Before continuing, it would be well to de- 
scribe the State of Ajpur, as the place was 
as unlike any other part of India in many 
ways as it was distant from them. 

It was not a very large or a very important 
realm. Governed by a native prince, who 
was allowed to call himself maharajah, the 
customs and laws of the iilace were pretty 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 153 

much the same as those which existed in 
other native states in the Indian Empire. 
But AjxDur was such a remote little province, 
and so difficult of access, that in trade, edu- 
cation, and every other product of civili- 
zation it was considerably behind other 
countries in point of advancement. The 
inhabitants were essentially conservative. 
“ AVhat had been must always be ” was the 
motto which ruled most of their lives, and 
it was difficult to make them see that new 
laws and new customs might sometimes re- 
place the old ones with advantage. 

Colonel Pane was wont to call the natives 
of Ajpur “ pig-headed ” on various occasions, 
and certainly it was a very neat way of de- 
scribing the people with Avhom he had so 
much to do. 

The native ruler was a fat, apoplectic j^er- 
sonage, with a very weak disposition. He 
lived in a state of fear of his cousin, a wily 


154 THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

prince, and his junior by several years. 
This man was the next heir to the throne ; 
but as the rajah was by no means an old 
man, his cousin knew that in all probability 
he would not succeed him for many years 
unless some unforeseen events should occur 
to bring it about. That possibility had 
presented itself to the mind of tlie wily 
aspirant to the throne inore than once, and 
all kinds of plots had evolved themselves in 
his fertile imagination. He was wise enough 
to know that the surest way of turning his 
cousin out was to cause him to rebel against 
the British Government, and for this pur- 
l)Ose he had dropped hints and made crafty 
insinuations which had produced a certain 
amount of impression on the rajah’s weak 
mind. Thus, having prepared the soil, as it 
were, it only remained for the seed to be 
sown from which tlie crafty prince expected 
such great results. What they were will 
appear later on. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


155 


CHAPTEK XII. 

The girls did not take long to settle down 
in their new home, and Dorothy felt that she 
could not have been happier had she been, 
like her friend, a daughter of the house, in- 
stead of a visitor. The two had their ironies 
to ride, and enjoj:ed themselves thoroughly. 
Society there was none, but everjTliing was 
new and delightful in proportion. It was 
about a fortnight after their arrival in the 
station that Geraldine met Captain Graham 
again. The bearer’s information as to his 
having been away on a shooting expedition 
was perfectly correct, but one day, toward 
the end of the fortnight. Colonel Fane an- 
nounced the return of the wanderer. They 
were all at dinner when a note was brought 
to the colonel. 


156 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“ Hullo ! ” lie said, “ this looks as though 
Graham were back. I’m glad of that. The 
j^ouiig ladies will have some one else to talk 
to now, I hope.” 

Geraldine’s head bent lower and lower 
over her plate, and then she stooped down to 
pick up some imaginary article from the 
Hoor, by which manoeuvre she hoped to escape 
observation. She was successful, too. Doro- 
thy was busying herself in teaching a terrier 
to beg, and Mrs. Fane was looking at her hus- 
band, so failed to notice her daughter’s crim- 
soning cheeks. 

“Where is the sahib, Chupprassie? ” Col- 
onel Fane asked. “ Tell him dinner is only 
just begun, and ask him to come over, 
too.” 

Hut a message came back to say the cap- 
tain sahib was too hot and dusty, after his 
long ride, to admit of his appearing in the 
presence of ladies. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


157 


However, next morning Dorothy met him. 
She had gone lor a ride by herself, as Gerry 
felt lazy and would not get up, and she was 
returning to the Kesidency, past the sepoys’ 
lines, when she came across him riding home 
from his work. 

“ Miss Villiers, this Is a X)lciisure,” he said. 
“ A little bird told me you had come to this 
distressful country, but I hardly dared be- 
lieve such good news. IIow are you?” 

“ Very ilourishing indeed, thank you, Caj)- 
tain Graham,” she answered, “and very glad 
to meet you again. It was very wrong of 
you to go away shooting just when we were 
to arrive. AVe exjiected you would meet us 
with a flourish of trumi^ets and Hags at least, 
and instead of that you had hidden yourself 
in some jungly spot.” 

“ It was Colonel Fane’s fault entirely. Miss 
Villiers,” he said. “ He told me you were 
not to arrive until to-morrow, and instead of 


158 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


that, beliolcl, you have been here a fort- 
night! ” 

“Never mind; I dare say we shall all 
survive, notwithstanding,” Dorothy rei)lied. 
“ Where are you going now? Why not 
come back to breakfast? I am told it is 
quite the proper thing to ask people to 
breakfast out here; is it not so? Will you 
come? Gerry will be very glad to see you, 
.1 know.” 

“Ah! of course. My little friend Miss 
Geraldine is here too,” he said, as though 
he had only just remembered the fact. “ I 
shall be glad to see her. That inducement 
is the last straw. Miss Villiers. I have much 
ideasure in accepting your kind invitation 
to breakfast, and will come now, this very 
moment.” 

“ So ! ” said Dorothy to herself. “ Fancy 
pretending he had forgotten Gerry was here 
too. What utter nonsense ! I exjiect, if the 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


159 


truth were known, lie liurwed back simply 
and solely on her account.” 

But she did not make her rellections knoAvn 
to her companion, and they rode toAvard 
the house chatting and laughing over other 
things. Just as they Avere about to turn into^ 
the gates, they met Prince Laluii Singh, ac- 
companied by a small retinue. The prince 
dreAv up to let them jiass, boAving as he did 
so, and the girl and her companion returned 
the salute cordially, and then passed on Avith- 
out comment. Not so the prince. Ilis broAv 
clouded as he iiursued his liomeAvard AA^ay, 
and lie muttered something under his breath 
to his companion, Avhich, had it been over- 
heard by any of his enemies, might have 
made matters someAvhat serious for him in 
future. But fortunately for him, the person 
to Avhom he s^ioke Avas a kindred spirit, and 
no danger was to be feared from him. ^ 

Geraldine met Captain Graham Avith per- 


IGO 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


feet ease and 8elf-i:)ossession, and no one 
would have guessed from her outward de- 
meanor what a temiiest had raged within. 
She told him she was glad to see him again, 
asked him about his shooting trip, and car- 
ried on the same kind of conversation with 
him as she might have done had he been a 
l)erfect stranger, just introduced to her. 
When lier parents came into the veranda, 
she disapi^eared, and went in search of Doro- 
thy. They all sat in the veranda after 
breakfast was over — talking of old times. 
While there, a message came from the maha- 
rajah asking Colonel Fane for an interview 
at an early date. The man who brought the 
missive was attired in the uniform of a na- 
tive officer. He was the confidential friend 
and adviser of the maharajah, and Prince 
Lalup Singh looked upon this man as his 
worst enemy, because he was his cousin’s 
best friend. Jemadar Zillah Thengba was 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


161 


quite a young nuiii, but, owing to the high 
favor in which he stood toward the maha- 
rajah, he had risen rapidly to his present 
position in the State. Colonel Fane liked 
the man because he possessed a great deal of 
common sense, and always helped the maha- 
rajah to decide matters satisfactorily for both 
l)arties. Zillah Theiigba was a very good 
ty])e of native in appearance. He was tall, 
but slightly made. Ills hair was black and 
very long, worn, according to the custom of 
the country, twisted into a loose knot at the 
nape of the neck. His eyes were large and 
clear and of no particular color; except that 
they were dark, no one knew whether they 
were gray, black, or brown. His complexion 
was fairer than that of most of his race, and 
he sjjoke a number of languages, having 
been educated at Calcutta. 

Colonel Fane gave the required answer 
into his hands and dismissed him. 


162 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“ I wonder what the maharajah wants 
now,” he said, when the jemadar’s tall form 
had vanished out of sight. “ He’s a wonder- 
ful fellow for a grievance, but I thought he 
had been more settled lately. He has some 
rooted idea in his head that our govern- 
ment aren’t behaving quite squarely toward 
him, and lately I have not been quite j)leased 
with the things I hear — declarations of in- 
dependence on his part in open durbar — and 
that kind of thing. Independence, forsooth ! 
Why, it would not take much provocation 
to cause the government to make a clean 
sweep of this j^lace and annex it. Were it 
not that the expense of keeping it would be 
heavy in comparison with the small amount 
of gain to be got out of the country, I fancy 
annexation would have occurred long ago.” 

“ But you don’t think he is really disaf- 
fected, do you, colonel?” said Captain Gra- 
ham, from the corner. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


103 


“ Tliat would be saying a great deal,” was 
tlie colonel’s answer. “But,” lie went on, 
“ I distrust that cousin exceedingly. I be- 
lieve, if I could bring home to him certain 
facts which have come to my knowledge of 
late, that I could get him deported from the 
countrj', and then matters would remain as 
peaceable as they always have been. But I 
don’t like that fellow, and I have reason to 
believe that he is anything but friendly 
toward our government; and who knows 
what he may not put into the head of that 
weak idiot who calls himself the maharajah? 
However, I don’t sni)i)ose any harm could 
come of it, even though at times I am rather 
sorry we are so short-handed here in the 
matter of troops, though of course it would 
not take long to get as many as we wanted 
in an emergency. But, as I said before, I 
don’t suppose any harm could come from 
that rascal Lalup’s machinations, and they 


164 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


know my opinion up at headquarters, and 
can act accordingly if they choose. Thank 
God, the whole responsibility of the matter 
does not rest with me ! ” 

So saying. Colonel Fane got up and went 
off to his work, and shortly afterward Cap- 
tain Graham followed his example, leaving 
the three ladies to their own devices until 
the evening, when he had promised to take 
the girls for a drive. Dorothy retired to 
study her favorite books, and Geraldine re- 
mained with her mother, reading to her while 
she worked. 

Meanwhile, in the i^alace another conver- 
sation had taken i)lace between the two royal 
cousins. They were seated together and 
alone in an inner apartment adjoining the 
sacred temple of Krishna. The maharajah 
was smoking his hookah and chewing betel 
nut alternately, but the younger prince sat 
without occupation of any kind, save that 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 165 

which was afforded to him in the study of 
his cousin’s face and expression. The iDrince 
had been getting impatient of late. His 
whispered innuendoes seemed to bear no 
fruit in the mind of his cousin, save that 
they caused him a certain amount ol’ uneasi- 
ness at times. But the crafty iirince de- 
sired a better result. He wanted to stir up 
the maliarajah’s wrath against the govern- 
ment to the extent of making him commit 
some rash act which would justify his depo- 
sition. So he resolved to attack his weak 
points more severely than before and force 
him to move in the matter. 

There was a question on hand at the time 
which gave ample material for the carrying 
out of the iwince’s design, and in which that 
gentleman was not slow to perceive many ad- 
vantages for the furtherance of his scheme. 

Some few months before the time of which 
I write, an event occurred which threatened 


IGG 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


to form the nucleus for a somewhat serious 
disturbance. Some sei)oys belonging to Col- 
onel Fane’s guard had gone, as usual, to buy 
rice in the evening bazar. While there, a 
procession, in which the maharajah and his 
ministers were taking part, issued out of the 
gate of the palace and crossed the market- 
place. All the natives engaged in selling 
their wares prostrated themselves to the 
earth before the monarch, but the sepoys, 
who of course owed him no allegiance, stood 
where they were and surveyed the procession 
without altering their position. In front of 
the maharajah’s chariot ran four men armed 
with long canes, with which they belabored 
any person obstructing the line of march. 
The sepoys, standing on the side of the road, 
received some sharp blows from these men 
as they passed by, which they instantly re- 
turned by rushing at their assailants and 
attempting to use the long knives which 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


167 


each man wore in his belt with murderous 
intent. Thereupon the maharajah caused 
his men to seize the British soldiers and con- 
vey them to his jail inside the palace wall, 
which order was carried out successfully 
through the overi^owering number of the 
assailants. The sepoys fought well at first, 
but eventually were captured and imprisoned. 

Then the news reached Colonel Fane, who 
immediately sent an order for the release of 
his men to the maharajah, which, through 
his cousin’s advice, that monarch chose to 
disobey. For five hours matters looked 
doubtful, but at the end of that time the 
maharajah’s short-lived foolhardiness left 
him, and he became alarmed at the conse- 
quences which might ensue from his rash 
act, and set the sepoys at liberty. 

But the matter did not end there. The 
government took it up, and . demanded a 
fine from the maharajah, which he had up 


1G8 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


till the present refused to pay — not that he 
exactly refused point-black, but he shilly- 
shallied until Colonel Fane grew certain that 
it would never be paid. The alternative was 
to be severe, but what form it was to take 
was still doubtful. One week moi‘o had 
been given the maharajah to decide in, and 
at the end of that time, if he still held out 
and refused to pay the fine, other and stronger 
measures were to be resorted to. 

Lalup Singh had considered the matter 
well, and had come to. the conclusion that 
now was the time for the blow to be struck 
which would deprive his cousin of his throne 
and put him in his place. 

“ Why should you pay this money to the 
sirkar,” he said — “you, the great maha- 
rnjah, the chosen of Krishna? Show your 
independence — refuse to comply — get these 
sahibs into your power, and then make your 
terms with them. They are crafty, these 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 1G9 

men. They speak x^easant words, but they 
think black thoughts. Some day, if my 
cousin be not wise, his kingdom Avill be 
taken, and his i^eoxDle made slaves. Now is 
the time to iwevent it; now is the time to 
rise and strike otT the Englishman’s accursed 
yoke, Tiisten, my cousin; I will unfold my 
X')lan. It is a good x^lan, and a wise, and will 
give to my cousin the advantage. But first, 
let me be sure that no secret enemy lurks 
within.” 

So saying, he arose, and with cat-like move- 
ments insx')ected the Avhole ax)artnient. Hav- 
ing done so, and satisfied himself that they 
were entirely alone, he reseated himself near 
his cousin, and talked to him in low tones 
for more than an hour. 

At the end he arose. 

“ I am not sure that your X)lan pleases me,” 
the maharajah said; “but if it is true what 
you saj’", then no time shall fly before the 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


no 

saliibs are in my power, to bend to my will 
and make their salaams to me.” 

“ True— true, my cousin. May all be well 
with thee forever. I have spol^en sound 
words. But the hour is late; we must be 
elsewhere. Tell no one of the things we 
have spoken.” 

So s.aying, the two princes quitted the 
chamber together. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


171 


CHAPTER XIII. 

A ]\iONTii passed away, but broiiglit with 
it no event of imi^ortance. The weeli which 
had been given to the maharajah to decide 
in had come and gone, and his decision had 
been iinfavoral)le ; he refused to pay the 
required fine, and proclaimed liis willingness 
to accept the consequences. What these 
were to be was doubtful. The government 
had been informed of the result of all the 
councils and talking that had taken place 
upon the subject, but no further communi- 
cation had reached Ajpur. Colonel Fane 
could only suppose that the maharajah’s de- 
cision was not going to be looked upon as 
such flagrant disobedience as he had thought 
at first, though he imagined that at some 


ITii THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

future time more would be heard about the 
matter. On the other hand, the princes did 
not understand tlie silence and inactivity 
which pervaded affairs of state, and the wily 
Lalup was forever dropping his insinuations 
into his cousin’s too credulous mind. “I 
know,” he said one night to him, as the two 
sat smoking together, “ I know, my cousin, 
Avhat it is that causes the sirkar to shut its 
lips. When the heart meditates, words come 
not so fast. The sirkar imagines that force 
may prevail where the persuasion of one 
sahib has failed. The troops of the sirkar 
are many, but to what purpose will they 
gather themselves together at a far distance? 
But if thej" come close, even into the borders 
of this land of thine, my cousin, Avhat will it 
profit thee if thou resist them? Then it will 
be too late, but that day is not yet. Then 
the sirkar will make treaties with you, but 
that day is not yet. And if my cousin is 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


173 


but wise, that day will never come. My 
cousin is acquainted with my i)lan. It is 
not for me to say more.” 

The maharajah knitted his brows, and 
gazed gloomily before him into sj^ace. Ilis 
heart warned him against accei)ting the per- 
nicious advice of the wily prince, and, on the 
other hand, he dreaded the consequences of 
his bravado in refusing to pay the fine. “ As 
Avell may one be hanged for a sheei^ as a 
lamb ” was the sentiment upi)ermost in his 
heart. The end of that night saw him re- 
solved to carry out his cousin’s i^roposals at 
all costs, even though at the same time he 
felt as though he were but kicking a stone 
wall in doing so. 

Meanwhile the days at the Residency had 
passed by very i)eacefully, as far as outward 
appea^rances could be judged from. But as 
is so often the case, there were tumults going 
on within the hearts of three at least of the 


174 


'THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


dwellers there, of which no mere outsider 
would ever have had the least susjiicion. 

Geraldine’s love for Captain Graham had 
returned tenfold, only to be met with the 
knowledge that he cared for her friend with 
all the force of his being. 

And Dorothy — what of her? Dorothy 
knew that, earnestly as she had fought 
against it, and sternly as she had refused his 
attentions, she could not help herself; and 
though Geraldine never knew it, and though 
he himself was equally ignorant, Dorothy 
knew quite well that she loved Cecil Graham 
with all her heart and soul. Her friend 
thought she was utterly indifferent to liim, 
and he despaired of ever moving her in the 
least. If a ride was proposed, Dorothy in- 
variably accompanied Colonel Fane, Avhile 
his daughter rode Avith the young soldier. 
It never mattered what was going on, always 
the fact remained — Geraldine Avitli Captain 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 175 

Graham and Dorothy elsewhere. Only once 
had she given way. Geraldine was in bed 
with a severe attack of fever, and Dorothy 
had been nursing her all day. In the even- 
ing she left her friend’s room to go for a 
breath of cool air into the garden. It was 
not long before Captain Graham found her 
there, and the two strolled about together 
tallying. lie spoke to her of Iiis father, wdio 
was on his way to India to pay him a visit. 
He had never told her much of his parents, 
and in fact never s^ioke of his mother at all ; 
but to-night he seemed to want her to know 
everything there was to know about him. 
Dorothy forgot her usually cold, indifferent 
manner to him, and almost let him see how 
keen her interest in him and his belongings 
was. “ Does she care at all,” he asked him- 
self, “ or am I an idiot even to think such 
a thought? ” 

“ Miss Dorothy,” he said, “ will you listen 


176 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


to something more which I must tell you? 
Will you be patient to me, and if I am wrong 
forgive me? I did not mean to tell you yet; 
but I can’t help it. I want to tell you that 
I love you. 1 think I have loved you ever 
since I first saw you. Is it quite inqiossible 
for you to care for me enough to bless me by 
becoming my Avife? I know you have never 
let me suppose even that you cared for me, 
but I know that you don't love any one else, 
so ” 

Dorothy had stood like a stone all the time 
he had been si)eaking to her. At his first 
words the color had rushed to her face, but 
only to leave it again deadly white, and her 
heart beat so fast and loud that he might 
have heard it. They were standing near and 
facing each other in a sheltered nook of the 
garden, and she had listened in silence at 
first, but now she broke in. 

“Ca2)tain Graham,” she said, while her 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 177 

voice trembled, “ i^lease do not talk like this. 
It is impossible— quite, quite imi:>ossible. I 
do like you very much, and you are i3erfectly 
riglit in saying I do not love any one else, but 
1 cannot marry you. I thank you for the 
honor you have done me, from the bottom 
of my heart, but I cannot be your wife. Do 
not ask me the reason, because I am not sure 
I have one ” 

“ But surely you must have a reason,” he 
broke in. “ O Dorothy, don’t you think 
you are wrong? You would care for me 
someday, though you don’t now; and I don’t 
think you understand what my love for you 

is. Don’t say ‘ No ’ to me.” 

“ It is impossible,” she answered gently. 
‘‘Be kind to me. Captain Grahani; please, 
please be kind to me. . I cannot marry you, 
and I cannot give you any reason. Only try 
not to think hardly of me, for I cannot help 

it. ” 


12 


178 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“I thiuk hardly of you, dear?” he said. 
“ No— never that! I have been a fool to tell 
you. That is ail. Perhaps some day ” 

“No! no!” she broke in with a trembling 
voice. “ Do not think I shall ever change. 
It can never be ‘ some day.’ Forget that we 
ever had this evening in our lives, and let us 
be what we have ever been — always good 
friends.” 

He did not answer at once, only he raised 
her lingers to his lips and kissed them. 

“ Some day, if you regret your decision to- 
night, will you promise to tell me?” he said. 
“ You will find me unchanged, though they 
do say men always change, I believe. Till 
then, will you believe that I would cut off my 
right hand if it could do you a service ? I am 
going away to-morrow for a day or two to 
shoot. When I come back I shall have 
fought out the battle with myself, and be 
better able to see you every day and learn 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


179 


thiit in all onr lives you and I are to be noth- 
ing but good friends. Good-night, my dear. 
I shall call you that now, this once, because 
for the future you have forbidden it, and I 
must obey. You have made my heart ache, 
little Dorothy, though you did not mean to. 
Good -night, and God bless you always.” 

Before the girl fully realized it, he had 
gone. She could see him striding away 
toward the barracks, and she watched him 
until an intervening building hid him from 
her. Then she walked back to the house, 
straight into her own room, where she shut 
the door and turned the key in the lock. 

Then all the pent-up agony in her heart 
burst forth. She threw herself on the floor 
by her bedside, and buried her face in her 
hands. Two great scalding tears forced them- 
selves from her eyes, but she did not cry as 
women cry over an ordinary trouble. She 
made no sound, but every now and then her 


180 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


shoulders heaved convulsively, and a heart- 
broken sob escaped her, while all the time 
the thoughts of what had occurred crowded 
into her brain and overwhelmed her. 

She had told herself all along that this 
man was for Geraldine. Gerry loved him, 
she knew, and had loved him long before 
she had. It would be treachery to her friend 
to give way and take what he offered her. 

And oh ! how good it seemed — how very 
good — and yet it could not be. Poor child! 
It was a hard struggle, and one which most 
women would have given ui^ at the outset to 
accei)t the easy course. But not so with this 
one ; she was made of different material, and 
she fought until she conquered, though her 
own heart was the only witness of the con- 
test. After a little she grew calmer, and 
then she prayed, as only those do pray 
who have gone through such agony, that 
she might have strength to do what was 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


181 


right to her friend in the matter, at all 
costs. 

Then she rose from her knees, went to the 
dressing-table, and brushed her ruffled hair 
back into its ordinary smooth state. Her 
own wliite face bore evidence to the strain 
wliich had been put upon her, but shehoi)ed 
the plea of headache would account for it to 
her friends. 

So she took one of her favorite books and 
went back to GeiTy’s room. Mrs. Fane was 
there, reading to her daughter, but she ceased 
as Dorothy entered the room. 

“ Well, dear,” she said, “ I hope your walk 
in the garden has done you good. I am sure 
you wanted rest and air after your long day 
nursing this naughty child. You don’t look 
lit for a sick-room, either, you are so white 
and tired-looking.” 

“Dollie has been reading those terrible 
books, mother, I know,” came from Ger- 


182 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


aldine, lying in bed. “They ought to be 
taken away from her, and only given back 
once a week for one hour.” 

Dorothy bent over and kissed her. “ Silly 
little woman,” she said, “you are wrong 
again, you see, for I have not read a line to- 
day. I’ve got a small headache, that is all.” 

“ Well, then, dear, in that case, you are not 
to stay in this close room any more to-night,” 
said Mrs. Fane. “ Go and sit with the col- 
onel in the veranda, where it is cool, or you 
will be getting knocked up yourself.” 

So Dorothy went, but she was glad to find 
Colonel Fane not installed in his usual chair 
when she slipped out into the veranda. 
She sat down with her arms resting on the 
railing that ran all round it, and the book 
she had brought lay idle in her lap. She 
looked more like the old sad-faced child who 
had sat by the fire that night in the little 
house in Kensington more than four years 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 183 

ago. Of late she had lost the grave, seri- 
ous expression which she possessed when 
younger, but the gray eyes looked sad to- 
night, and there were the old great shadows 
under them. She slipped away early to bed 
that night, but she did not sleep. All night 
long her trouble lay heavy upon her, and it 
was only an hour or two before dawn that 
the tired eyes closed and she fell asleep. 
"When she awoke the next morning the ayah 
informed her that the captain sahib was 
leaving the station for three days. 

“ The sahib is a great shikari, Missie Baba,” 
the old woman said. “ Some day the sahib 
will care for other things, but now he is 
young, and his heart is on fire because of the 
news which the ‘ dak wallah ’ has brought. 
Gor Babu’s daughter is killed by a tiger— 
a man-eating tiger, Missie Baba, great and 
terrible— and the captain sahib will start at 
noon to track and slay him . May the gods 
protect him ! ” 


184 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


CHAPTER XIV. 

A FORTNIGHT later there was a native holi- 
day.- The offices were closed and work 
susjiended for forty-eight hours. Captain 
Graham had returned from his shooting ex- 
pedition, victorious. The man-eater had been 
slain, and his mangy skin and powerful 
claws were spread out in the sun to dry on 
the lawn in front of the Residency. The 
weather was becoming hot, and Colonel Fane 
was thinking seriously of sending his wife 
and the two girls to the hills for the rains. 
Ajpur was never very healthy at this time 
of year, and even the sepoys who foimed 
Colonel Fane’s guard were feeling ill effects 
from the climate. Almost half of them were 
in hospital. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


185 


But the day of the Poojah, as the natives 
called it, was beautiful, very fine, but not too 
hot, and Colonel Fane proposed a picnic to 
a sacred grove situated about five miles away 
to the north of the palace. 

Geraldine was delighted at the idea, and 
the party arranged to start off after chota 
nazri. But when the time came, Dorothy 
pleaded headache, and begged to be allowed 
to remain at home. The others offered to 
give up the picnic, but she would not hear of 
it, and said she would go, too, sooner than 
that they should lose the day in the open 
air. So as Colonel Fane seldom got out for 
a whole day, they agreed to let Dorothy do 
as she i^leased, and she promised to ride out 
and meet them in the cool of the evening. 
Cecil Graham stayed to finish some work he 
had to do, and rode out about twelve, while 
Colonel Fane, his wife, and daughter started 
off ahead. As they passed the palace gate. 


18G 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


Prince Lai up Singh met them, and, pulling 
nj) his horse, inquired courteously after the 
health of the party. They stayed a few min- 
utes talking, and told him they were going 
off to the grove for the day. 

“And the captain sahib, is he not going 
also? ” asked the prince. 

He was told the captain sahib would fol- 
low later, and then exchanging more saluta- 
tions he left the party and, putting sx)urs to 
his horse, gallox^ed into the palace court-yard 
and demanded an instant interview with his 
cousin. 

Meanwhile, at a little before twelve, Cap- 
tain Graham rode out of the Residency gate, 
and cantered off in the direction which the 
others had taken. He knew Dorothy had 
remained behind, but he did not know 
whether he were glad or sorry for it. He 
had seen as little as possible of her since his 
return, chiefly because he was very busy, and 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


187 


having a great deal to do occupied liis atten- 
tion and made it easier for him to make ex- 
cuses to stay away when Geraldine pressed 
him to come to the Residency. He intended 
going on leave shortly. His father was 
already in India, and on his way up to see 
him, after which visit the two prox:)Osed tak- 
ing a trip for some shooting to Cashmere. 
Tilings had to be settled and imt in order for 
tlie officer who was coming to relieve him, 
and thus he found plenty to do and scarcely 
time enough in which to do it. To-day’s 
picnic he had refused, until, overcome by 
Geraldine’s pleading, he had changed his 
mind and arranged to go later. As he rode 
past the north gate of the palace a dusky 
figure rose from its crouching posture near 
the wall, and ran as though its life depended 
on its agility toward the j^rivate council 
chamber belonging to the maharajah. On 
arriving there, the figure divested itself of 


188 


THE POWER OF AH EYE. 


some of its coverings, and disclosed the 
emaciated form and face of an oldish man. 
lie salaamed to the sentries on duty outside, 
and presented a dirty scrai^ of i:)aper to ’which 
was aflixed the great seal of the maharajah, 
with the sight of which every native in Ajpnr 
was acquainted. The sentries drew them- 
selves up into the position of attention, and 
then saluted, while at the same time they 
allowed the man to pass on into the ante- 
room leading to the maharajah’s chamber. 
As he entered, Lalui) rose from a couch near 
the wall. 

It is well, my lord,” said the messenger, 
for that the man was the bearer of some 
neAvs AA'as very evident. “It is aa’cII. The 
sahib has even noAv ridden toward the north. 
The sahib rides fast, as a man rides who is 
eager to overtake. It may be an hour at 
the most before the sahibs gather together to 
eat. Is it not so, my lord? If my lord please, 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


189 


he will strike the blow now, and 1^^ even I, 
his slave, I shall be rewarded. Did not my 
soul say ” 

Prince Laliii) hit the man across the mouth. 
“ Silence, thou son of ijerdition ! ” he said, 
with a look so lierce and cruel that his lis- 
tener shrank back into the far end of the 
apartment and cowered there. 

“Is it a time for thee, thou base-born, to 
make thy voice heard? ” he went on. “ There 
is no reward for him whose mouth is ever 
open to speak of the things Avhich are not 
his. Silence! Dost hear me, O serpent?” 

The creature addressed cast himself, grovel- 
ling, at the i)rince’s feet, and murmured his 
submission. 

“ Enough,” said Lalup. “Begone hence, 
but await my coming, and be not far distant. 
I have more Avork for thee to do, but my 
time is short. Begone! ” 

The man crept hastily from his presence, 


190 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


and the prince strode from the anteroom 
into his cousin’s chamber. 

“ The time is come, my cousin,” he said. 
“The gods have aided us. The sahibs are 
gone out to eat at the sacred nullah. Their 
sei^oys remain behind, eating and sleei^ing at 
this moment, for is it not noon? All is ready, 
and only awaiting my cousin’s orders. Shall 
they be given? The gates should be closed 
at once, and the men are all ready for action. 
Delay not, and the day is thine.” 

He spoke hurriedly. He knew his cousin’s 
vacillating temperament, and he dreaded fail- 
ure now more than ever. 

The maharajah looked very uneasy. “I 
like not this haste, Lalup,” he said, shaking 
his head. “ I would that my good Thengba 
were returned. His advice has never failed. 
Let us await till he comes and then strike.” 

Laluii Singh ground his teeth together, 
and muttered something under his breath. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 191 

“It must be now,” be said empliatically. 
“ If thou miss this chance, then who knows 
whether thou will ever have another, my 
cousin — and meanwhile the sirkar Avill send 
and turn thee out of this kingdom. Have I 
not told thee they delay, but they come all 
the same ? ” 

“ I like it not — I like it not, and yet there 
may be wisdom in thy speech, my cousin,” 
said the other. “ Well, if it must be, it must 
— but I like it not. If Zillah Thengba were 
but here,” 

“He is due at sunset,” was the answer; 
“but wait not for him. Ho! sentry! ” 

At his call four sepoys apjieared at the en- 
trance and saluted. 

“ Call my Jemadar,” said the maharajah. 

The man appeared in a few moments, and 
then the two princes delivered their orders 
to him. Shortly afterward Lalup Singh 
issued forth from the north gate, followed 


192 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


by two liiiudred of liis own i)icked men, all 
fully arjiied. In tlie centre of tlie column 
were four doolies or sedan-chairs, and round 
each of these a special guard of six mounted 
infantry. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


193 


CHAPTER XV. 

About one o’clock Dorothy was strolling 
near the wall inside the Residency g4rden. 
She had been doAvn to the hospital to see 
the sick men there, and had been surprised 
to find how many they were. The whole 
guard only consisted of seventy men, and 
of these quite fifteen Avere more or less on 
the sick-list and unfit for duty. As the girl 
wandered back to the house, she noticed that 
the great gate of the palace was closed, 
a most unusual occurrence. So she turned 
back and asked the native officer to inquire 
the reason for such an event. He crossed 
the road which lay between the Residency 
and the palace, and accosted a sentry who 
was i)acing iqi and down on the wall. 

13 


194 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“It is tlie maharajah’s ‘hookum’ [com- 
mand]” was the only answer vouchsafed to 
him, and with this information he returned 
to Dorothy, who marvelled at it much. 

“ Perhaps it has something to do with the 
Poojah,” she said, and returned to the house 
again. 

At four o’clock she went to her room to 
dress for her ride out to the others, but had 
scarcely commenced when she was startled 
by her ayah. 

The old woman burst into her room, and 
began that curious wailing in which native 
women invariably indulge over any calamity. 

“O Missie Baba, the sahib, the sahib,” 
she moaned. Dorothy’s heart stood still. 

“What is the matter, ayah? ” she asked. 
“What has happened? For Heaven’s sake 
tell me. Where is the sahib, and what 
sahib is it you mean? ” 

“Both, Missie Baba,” she wailed; “the 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


195 


bumi suliib and the cliota sahib and the 
mem sahib.” 

Dortdhy was in despair, but she rushed 
out into tlie veranda and sought some of 
the otlier servants. They were all collected 
some few yards from the house, and in the 
centre of the group stood a man whom Doro- 
thy recognized as Captain Graham’s sais 
(groom). She ran toward them, and as she 
did so the group disi^ersed to meet her. 

“ What news is this. Nidi Ram?” she said 
to the l)earer; “what of the sahibs and the 
mem sahib? ” 

“O Missie Baba, it is terrible news,” 
was the answer. “Graham sahib’s sais is 
here; he Avill tell the Missie Baba.” 

The man salaamed, and then began his tale, 
which was as follows: 

Colonel Fane and his two ladies had ridden 
out to the sacred grove, where they had 
chosen a place for luncheon, and then wan- 


19G 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


dered about until joined at one o’clock by 
Captain Graliam. The party had finished 
lunch, and the men were enjoying a smoke, 
when suddenly they were interrupted by the 
ax)pearance of Prince Lalup Singh, at the 
head of two hundred armed men. 

“What the deuce is this?” said Captain 
Graham. “A new sort of poojah, colonel, 
don’t you think? ” 

“ I don’t understand it at all,” said the col- 
onel. 

They were not long left in doubt. The 
prince’s men surrounded them in a few sec- 
onds, while the servants hed in terror to hide 
behind trees. 

Colonel Fane advanced to meet; Lalup, who 
at once drew his sword and shouted to him 
to stop. Then, advancing, he gave the com- 
mand to his men to seize the party, which 
order was at once obeyed. 

The whole thing had been so sudden and 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


id: 


unexpected that the Englishmen had had 
no chance. As it was, they made as much 
resistance as was i)ossible; Captain Grraham 
used liis revolver, which he always carried 
about with him, with great effect, killing 
two men who attempted to seize him, and 
wounding others. But they were over- 
powered in a very few moments and pin- 
ioned, after which they were hurried into the 
doolies and conveyed back to the palace by 
a different way. Ceraldine and her mother 
had been so overcome with terror that the 
former had fainted, and Mrs. Fane seemed 
turned to ice. She saw her husband seized 
and hurried away, and then she found her- 
self in a similar situation, while Geraldine 
was carried past her unconscious and was 
put into the first of the four doolies. Then 
the procession moved off. Lalup chuckled 
over his success. So far, his plans had met 
with no obstruction, and now it only re- 


198 


THE POWER OP AN EYE. 


mained for him to force his cousin to some 
fresh act. of rebellion, and then to step into 
his place as Maharajah of Ajpur, having first 
made himself out to be but an innocent tool 
acting under his cousin’s orders. Colonel 
Fane could assign no reason for the sudden 
outbreak. He had not been behind the 
scenes to hear tlie insinuations and argu- 
ments used by the wily Lalup to gain his 
own ends. However, he had to content him- 
self patiently, as he had no means of finding 
out what it was that had brought about the 
present situation. 

Meanwhile poor Dorothy was at her wits’ 
end. What to do she could not tell. She 
called the native officer wdio commanded the 
escort and asked him what he proposed. He 
was a long-headed, wise man, and he took in 
the difficulties of the position at a glance. 
Nothing, he knew^, could be done to attempt 
a rescue without further aid than he at pres- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


199 


ent possessed, so that aid must be got Avith- 
out delay. A journey of eighty miles lay 
between Ajpur and British territory, where 
troops were to be procured. Tliey might 
arrive in a couple of days if the news of 
what had occurred could reach them, but the 
difficulty was whom to send with the mes- 
sage; with so few men in hand, few could 
be spared. But at length he decided to send 
three of the sepoys with the message. Hav- 
ing thought over the matter, he got Dorothy 
to write out the necessary dispatches, and 
late that night, when darkness had set in, 
tlie party set forth on their dangerous errand. 
But they had scarcely started before a mes- 
senger under a white flag reached the Resi- 
dency from the maharajah with a letter. In 
it he stated that he had seized the officers 
and Mrs. Fane and her daughter, because he 
liad reason to know that the sirkar meditated 
hostilities toAvard him on account of his re- 


200 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


fusal to pay the fine demanded of him. “ He 
would,” he went on to say, “ keep his pris- 
oners until the sirkar came to terms with 
him; but should the authorities refuse this, 
and attempt to rescue them by force, it would 
fare ill with them. Meanwhile they would 
be securelj" guarded within the palace.” 

Dorothy was in despair. “ What are we 
to do? ” she said to the officer. “ If we fight, 
they will kill them; and yet we cannot sit 
idle and leave them in that dreadful place. 
What are we to do? ” 

“It is difficult, Missie Baba,” was the 
answer; “but nothing can be done until the 
sepoys come np from Goveegnnje.” 

As he was speaking, a party of his men ap- 
peared, dragging with them a prisoner, whom 
Dorothy recognized as Zillah Thengba, the 
favorite of the maharajah. 

He had been on his way back to the pal- 
ace from his five-days’ expedition, and had 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 201 

known nothing of what had occurred. Sud- 
denly he found himself attacked by a small 
party of sepoys who were on guard outside 
the Residency gate. They treated him with 
scant ceremony, and hurried him up to the 
house. The incident had escaped notice 
from the palace, and the poor prisoner was 
at his wits’ end to find the reason for such 
treatment. 

“ A prisoner ! a prisoner ! ” shouted the 
guard as they conveyed him to their officer 
in triumph. He ordered them to put him in 
the quarter guard, and watch him carefully to 
see he did not escape. Meanwliile the few men 
that remained of the Residency guard were 
posted all round the house, to be ready in case 
of attack. All seemed quiet, however. Doro- 
thy could hear only the tramp, tramp of the 
sentries on guard, and an occasional challenge 
from the palace wall. Her thoughts were not 
It was terrible to know that those 


20 ^ THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

slie loved were even now prisoners behind 
those strong walls. What were they doing? 
she wondered ; and, oh ! how powerless she felt 
to think she could do nothing to help them, 
Avhen suddenly a thought struck her. True, 
it seemed a wild and impossible one, but at 
any rate it would do no harm to attempt 
wdiat it suggested. She lost no time. Hurry- 
ing to the quarter guard, she told it to the 
native ofTicer, who gazed at her in amaze- 
ment when she made her extraordinary state- 
ment. 

“ I want the uniform and accoutrements of 
your prisoner, Zillah Thengba. Give me the 
ring he wears on his finger, his sword, and 
all the dispatches he carries— and for God’s 
sake lose no time about it, jemadar sahib.” 

Wonderingly the man obeyed her, and in 
ten minutes the things she had asked for 
were hers. She was precisely the same 
height as the young officer, and his clothes 


THE POWER OF AN EYE: 203 

fitted lier as tliougli made for her. She un- 
did her long dark hair and coiled it up in 
the same loose knot worn by Zillah Thengba. 
Then she joroceeded to color her face and 
hands with a concoction which her old ayah 
had shown her some time previously", after 
which she fastened on the ofRcer’s sword-belt 
and sash, x■)ut his signet-ring on her finger, 
and was ready for her self-imiiosed and dan- 
gerous mission. As she left her room, she 
glanced at the dispatches Zillah Thengba 
had brought in his pockets. They would as- 
sist her greatly, she knew, in her personation 
of the imprisoned officer. She stepped into 
the veranda, where two orderlies were in 
attendance on the jemadar. They started 
up and rushed to seize her, imagining that 
Zillah had escaped— and even the jemadar 
liimself was amazed at the wonderful dis- 
guise wdiich the girl had chosen. That it 
was a perfect one, nobody could doubt. In 


204 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


a few words she told the jemadar what she 
intended to do, and then, as darkness liad 
already set in, she passed out through a small 
gate belonging to the grounds and wended 
her way toward the north gate of the palace. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


205 


CHAPTER XVI. 

The maliarajali sat alone in liis chamber,- si- 
lently ruminating over the events of the day. 
Laliip Singh had left him and gone away for 
the night, to walk round the walls and see 
that all were ready in case of attack. 

The maharajah’s brow was clouded. Al- 
ready he doubted the wisdom of what he 
had done. True, he had the i)risoners as 
liostages in his hands, over whom to make 
terms with the British Government. But 
supposing his cousin’s information were to 
turn out incorrect and the sirkar to have 
contemplated no hostility toward him, what 
then? Had he not cut off his own head, as 
it were? He thought on for some time, but 
at last his hookah soothed him and he 
sat half-asleep, till interrupted by a slave. 


206 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


who informed him that his jemadar, Zillah 
Theiigba, had just returned. The maliara- 
jah’s face lightened. 

“ Bid him enter,” he said, with a sigh of 
relief. 

The lights were dim in the monarch’s cham- 
ber or he might have observed the i^allor of 
his favorite’s countenance. 

The latter advanced, however, lirmly into 
the room and prostrated himself before his 
ruler. 

“ Salaam, maharajah,” he said in a low 
voice. According to the custom in Ajpur, 
Zilhdi Thengba wore round the lower por- 
tion of his face a cloth, which hid the mouth 
and chin and came up to the edge of the 
nose. Any natives of the place who were 
travelling invariably bound up their faces in 
this manner, and on their retuin they were 
not allowed to remove the covering until 
they had seen a Brahmin and iierformed a 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


207 


poojali to celebrate tlieir arrival. So there 
was nothing nn usual in the appearance of 
the court favorite on this occasion. After 
having seated himself in obedience to the 
maharajah’s command, the young officer 
handed him the dispatches he carried, which 
the prince perused after having first in- 
quired after his favorite’s welfare. Then 
when that business was at an end, the con- 
versation turned on the day’s events, of 
which the young officer seemed to have heard 
already. He explained that away by saying 
that he had stopped a few moments to see 
his w'ife, and she had told him all. Then he 
proceeded to offer his opinion and advice, in 
the same low tones which had characterized 
his discourse hitherto, and which the maha- 
rajah thought to mean that he was anxious 
to avoid being overheard by any outside 
listener. 

“ It was an unwise act, my lord,” he said. 


208 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“It will bring down the vengeance of the 
sirkaij and then what profit will there be for 
thee? ” 

“But it is too late, Zillah,” replied the 
other. “The thing is accomplished, and 
there is no escape for me.” 

“There is one, my king,” said the jema- 
dar, and he turned his face away to avoid 
letting the other note the intense excite- 
ment which was covering his brow with cold 
beads of i)ersx)iration. Then he went on: 
“ Give thy slave an order, signed with the 
seal of the great maharajah, to j^ass out the 
prisoners and return them to their home. 
Thou shalt say it was a mistake of thy 
cousin’s, and, if there be any blame, surely 
on him will it be, even on Lalux), whose word 
no man trusts.” As he gave vent to this 
sentence, he fixed the other with his gaze, 
intent, fiery, and yet cold as the eye of a 
snake ai^pears to the victim destined for de- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


209 


strnction. The maharajah was sensible of 
the curious fascination his favorite minister 
seemed to be exercising over him. He shifted 
liis i)ositioii uneasily and tried to avoid the 
other’s gaze, but without success. Zillah 
Thengba rei)eated what he had said several 
times, still keei)ing his i^owerful eyes lixed 
on his master’s weak countenance. For over 
an hour he continued, and then the mahara- 
jah showed signs of wavering. Quick as 
thought, the officer produced i^aper and pen 
from his haversack, while, rising, he stood 
over his iiatron and said in a hard, strained 
voice; “ Write, and write quickly, 0 maha- 
rajah ! Time is Hying and delay is fatal to 
thee and thy interests.” The man wrote 
what he told him, writing as one in a dream, 
wlio scarcely knows what he is doing. 

“Seal it — here,” almost gasj)ed the other,' 
handing the little oil-himp to the mahara- 
jah, and watching every action with breath- 
14 


210 


rUE POWER OF AN EYE. 


less emotion. Then, as the great seal was 
affixed to the document, the maharajah, turn- 
ing to confer again with his adviser, felt a 
curiously drowsy sensation creeping over his 
senses, and in a few moments forgot every- 
thing — where he was, what had passed, in 
fact all — to fall back like a log on his pillows, 
insensible. The supposed Zillah Thengba 
had chloroformed him by placing a hand- 
kerchief over his face saturated in that fluid. 
Then the young officer turned and staggered 
from the apartment, stopi)ing an instant to 
regain composure for the fresh ordeals await- 
ing him. 

“Where are the lu’isoners?” he demanded 
of the sentry on guard outside. 

The man saluted, and then pointed to the 
arsenal, adjoining a strong brick building 
used as an extra magazine for storing am- 
munition. 

Zillah Thengba strode rapidly toward it. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


211 


His lieart beat like a sledge-liammer, and all 
the dangers of the situation rose in front of 
him. Time was Hying. In a few minutes 
the maharajah would awaken from his trance. 
AVhat had occurred would reach the ears of 
Lalnj) on his rounds, and then — but he dared 
not think. Only he hastened on. 

Fortunately, there were tAvo keys to the 
guard-room. One was in possession of Prince 
Lai up and the other always carried by the 
young jemadar, and happily in his pocket 
on this occasion. 

“ The prisoners are to be given to me, by 
the orders of the greatest of maharajahs,” 
he said to the officer on guard. 

The latter stared hard at him, and then, 
not content, repeated the act. 

“ Where is the order? ” he said. 

“ Who art thou to question the deeds of 
Zillah Thengba? ” he asked, though his heart 
beat so loud and fast as he put the question 


213 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


that he almost feared the other would hear 
it; but to avoid further argument he pro- 
duced the document, with the great seal 
showing clearly in the moonlight. 

The other read it, and then marched sul- 
lenly behind his superior to the door of the 
guard-room, which the jemadar unlocked. 

“ With the jemadar’s consent, I will has- 
ten and inform the Prince Lalup Singh 
of the maharajah’s ‘ hookum ! ’ Maybe the 
])rince does not know,” said the officer in 
charge. 

“ Tiiere is no need,” replied Zillah Thengba. 
“ The jprince will know in time.” 

“But surely he should know now,” was 
the answer. 

“Then go — tell him— thou all-knowing,” 
said the jemadar; “ where stays the prince? ” 

“ On tlie outer wall, directing the sepoys,” 
reidied the other. 

“ It is well. Go, as thou art anxious.” 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


213 


The man departed as though his life de- 
pended on the smartness with which he should 
fulfil his mission, and the young officer strode 
hastily into the guard-room alone. 

Colonel Fane and the others were seated 
there together, anxiously awaiting their fate. 
They started on seeing the favorite of the 
maharajah enter so suddenly and alone. 

“ What brings thee hither, jemadar? ” said 
Colonel Fane, sternly, for he anticipated 
something fresh from the intrusion. 

Zillah Thengba made no answer, but he 
pulled the cloth from off his face, revealing 
the lower features. 

“Good God! It is Dorothy!” he ejacu- 
lated, while the others rose in their seats, 
aghast. 

“ Silence, I pray you ! ” was all she said. 
“ Follow me.” 

Then she spoke in Ilindostani, and in 
the name of the maharajah, commanding 


214 


THE poweh of an eye. 


tile party to follow her with the utmost 
speed. 

Breathlessly and with beating hearts they 
went their way, sometimes almost running 
in their eagerness. They passed a number 
of sentries, to each of whom Dorothy ex- 
hibited the order with as few words as possi- 
ble. Scarcely two hundred yards remained 
between them and the outer gate, when Doro- 
thy turned to see the powerful form of Lalup 
striding after them, accompanied by a num- 
ber of sepoys. 

“ We must run,” she gasped, and run they 
did toward the gate where the last two sen- 
tries remained to be passed. “You must 
knock those men down,” she said; “they 
will not pass us with Laluji so close behind.” 

Colonel Fane tackled one and Captain 
Graham the other, wresting their rifles from 
them and forcing the door, which oiiened be- 
fore them. As they did so, bullets whizzed 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


215 


above their heads from the pursuing party, 
Aviio were now quite convinced that the sup- 
posed Zillah Thengba was some traitor in 
tlie camp. Mrs. Fane and Geraldine, half- 
fainting with terror, darted through the 
gate, supported by Colonel Fane, avIio almost 
dragged them across the short distance 
wliich remained before the Residencj" gate 
was readied. Dorothy was following them 
closel}", with Cecil Graham, who was trying 
to shield her from the bullets which now 
rained around them. They had almost 
gained the shelter of the Residency gate, 
when a sudden slmiqi cry of agony smote i 
terror into the soldier’s heart, and, turning, 
lie was just in time to gather up the girl he 
loved into his arms and run with her the 
rest of the way. The Residency guard, 
alarmed at the noise, had rushed to the res- 
cue, and were now returning the enemy’s 
fire eagerly, but Captain Graham could think 


216 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


of nothing but what had hapiDened to the 
girl who liad risked her life for his. “ My 
darling, my darling,” he said, “for God’s 
sake say you are not hurt.” 

But she did not answer, and he only knew 
she was alive by the beating of her heart 
against his own. Once inside the Residency, 
they were comparatively safe, as it was a 
strong stone building capable of resisting 
attack. The horror of the others at finding 
that Dorothy was hurt was unspeakable. 
The bullet had gone through her shoulder, 
and was still in her somewhere, causing -her 
terrible agony. Every time she moved a 
great stream of blood poured from it, the 
sight of which was almost too much for those 
watching her. And yet the girl’s great cour- 
age kept her uj). In a weak voice she told 
them of what she had attempted and carried 
out so successfully as far as they were con- 
cerned. But those she had saved could not 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


217 


forgive tliemselves when they saw her lying 
wounded, and i^robably dying, before their 
very eyes. 

Outside the firing had ceased. Lalup had 
])een wounded himself, and no one had cared 
to go on without him on the enemy’s side. 
Jjiit the British sepoys were eager for re- 
venge, and were very disappointed at the 
command to “cease firing.” It was con- 
sidered advisable to reserve the force at the 
Residency until further aid should arrive, as 
the men were not numerous enough to be 
divided, half to protect the Residency and 
half to continue the attack. So there was 
nothing to be done but wait in comparative 
patience for the other troops, which all knew 
must arrive in a day or two. Meanwhile 
poor Dorothy grew weaker every hour, and 
it was clear to all that her life was in danger. 
And still they could only wait and do noth- 


218 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


CHAPTER XVIL 

Hostilities had been suspended for the 
time being. The Residency was guarded all 
round, but no further attack had been made 
upon it from the palace. The maharajah 
had, however, made no effort to communicate 
with Colonel Fane, or endeavor to exjffain 
his motives for capturing the latter and 
making prisoners of him and his comiianions. 
Troops were expected in a day or two at 
the latest; but until they arrived. Colonel 
Fane thought it wiser to assume the defen- 
sive, rather than attack the maharajah with 
so few men at his command. 

Meanwhile the party in the Residency 
was not a happy one. Even with medical 
aid, they feared that Dorothy’s life would be 
in peril; but without, there seemed scarcely 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


219 


a chance of her living to see the troojos arrive. 
Every hour that i^assed left her weaker, and 
the ghastly wound in her shoulder seemed 
to grow wider and deeper as the day went on. 

(teraldine’s grief was terrible to witness, 
nnd Cecil Graham paced up aud down, up 
and down, in an adjoining room, with his 
lunirt torn with anguish. 

Perhaps the least upset was Dorothy her- 
self. She was not in very great pain, only 
she breathed with evident difficulty. But 
she smiled at Mrs. Fane every now and then, 
and thanked her for all she was doing for 
her in her old sweet, unselfish way. 

“ Do not fret, dear,” she said to Geraldine 
once, when her friend had come to take care 
of her for a time. “ I think I shall live till 
the doctor comes, at any rate, and then he 
will be able to tell me whether I shall get 
better or not.” 

Dollie,” Geraldine almost groaned. 


220 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


“ DonH talk as tliougli there were even a 
doubt about it.” 

“No, dear. I won’t if you don’t like it. 
Let us talk of something else, then. AVhat 
are they doing outside? Does your father 
think they will attack us?” 

So Geraldine forced herself to be cheerful, 
and the two talked on until Mrs. Fane re- 
turned and forbade her patient to ask any 
more questions. 

The next day passed with equal monoton 
but suddenly about five o’clock in the even- 
ing the jemadar came to report that the in- 
coming troops were heliographing from a hill 
about live miles away. 

The message was answered from the Resi- 
dency, begging them to hurry on and send 
the doctor with the advance, as he wms ur- 
gently required. 

In an hour they came, six hundred men, 
and artillery enough to destroy more folds 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


221 


than the maharajah had at his disposal. But 
great as the relief was which Colonel Fane 
experienced at the longed-for arrival, the 
excitement was tempered with terrible anx- 
iety on Dorothy’s a(;count. 

Cecil Graham had galloi)ed out to meet the 
doctor, and the two men had ridden as fast 
as their panting horses could travel back to 
the house. 

Theii followed the examination of the 
wound by the doctor, during which the 
others remained outside the room in an agony 
of apprehension, which gave way to greater 
alarm when the medical man’s verdict reached 
them. 

lie called Mrs. Fane aside and told her — 
told her in gentle words — that the life of the 
brave girl lying in the other room was a 
doomed one. “ In any case,” he said, “ the 
operation of extracting the bullet will cause 
hemorrhage, which would bring with it ex- 


222 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


liaustion, from which, in her i^resent weak 
state, I could scarcely hope for recovery. 
But the bullet must be extracted, and at 
once, and I can only hope that her naturally 
strong constitution may stand her in good 
stead and pidl her through. She is a brave 
girl, that, Mrs. Fane, and too good for such 
an end. She should get the V. C. if she 
lives.” 

There was something susi)iciously like tears 
in the kind man’s eyes as he turned away 
to prepare for the oi)eration, and poor Mrs. 
Fane was well-nigh heart-broken. Had it 
been her own daughter, she could scarcely 
have felt the trouble more keenly. Outside 
a council of war was being held to decide 
whether an attack should be made, or an 
instant surrender on the part of the maha- 
rajah. The troops had met with no resistance 
coming up, so it was decided to send a letter 
to the maharajah demanding that he should 


TI[E POWEli OF AN EYE. 


233 


give liimself \ii> as a prisoner witliont delay, 
and come accompanied by liis cousin, Prince 
Lai up Singli. 

^Meanwhile tlie doctor did liis terrible 
work. It did not last long, but his worst 
anticipations were realized, and all knew that 
the girl who had rescued her friends from a 
great danger was to give her own life in 
return for those she had sought to save. 

Over poor Captain Graham had crept the 
calmness born of despair. With a rigid 
white countenance he asked whether, in the 
face of what was to come, he might he allowed 
to see her. 

“ She has asked for you,” was the answer, 
and the other bowed his head and followed 
Mrs. Fane into the room where the now 
dying girl lay. She held out her hand to 
him as he entered, and smiled a wan smile, 
lie could not s^ieak, but he went to the side 
of the bed, and, kneeling, buried his face, 


234 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


SO tliat she should not note the agony he 
endured. The others had left the room 
and gone out into the veranda, where Mrs. 
Fane tried to soothe her daughter’s terrible 
grief. 

Dorothy laid her hand on the young sol- 
dier’s curly hair. 

“Do not fret for me, dear,” she said. 
“Do not fret; it is all for the best. I coidd 
not have married you, because — well, it would 
have been sellish. Some day you will under- 
stand.” 

“ My little darling,” he said, “ you must not 
talk like this. You will get better. You 
must get better, and then we will see. But 
you cannot go and' leave me — leave me to 
live out my life without you.” 

“Hush, hush, dear,” she said gently; “it 
is not in our hands, and it will be all for the 
best, I know. Try to think so, too. I would 
not have you fret for me. And there is some- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


225 


thing I want you to do for me, which I must 
tell you now while I have time. I have told 
you about my mother; she left me a task to 
do, and I have done it. You will lind a 
number of letters in that little case,” she con- 
tinued, i^ointing to a small leather box on a 
table near; “they are letters from my father 
to my mother. Ilis name was Maurice, but 
I do not know more about him. But she left 
a message of forgiveness for him when she 
was dying. If lie is alive, I wanted to hnd 
him and tell him, but it is a difficult task. 
Will you do my work for me, or is it ask- 
ing too much? Those papers will tell you 
all.” 

“ You can trust me, my darling,” he an- 
swered: “ I will do my best for you, now and 
always.” 

His voice failed him, and he could not say 
any more. Silence reigned in the room for 
some time. The Angel of Death was very 

15 


326 THE POWER OF AN EYE. 

close by now, though mercifully his i)resence 
was unseen by the broken-hearted man kneel- 
ing by the bedside. 

Mrs. Fane returned soon after, returned to 
find the girl’s face as white as the i^illow on 
which her head rested, and the gray shadows 
creejiing up round her mouth. She knew 
well that the sands of life were ebbing away, 
so she stole gently and silently out to fetch 
Geraldine. 

“My little girl,” the mother said, “you 
must try and be still if you come into Doro- 
thy’s room to bid her farewell. Do not let 
your own sad heart interfere with her peace, 
my darling.” 

Geraldine bowed her head and followed 
her mother into the room, where she too 
knelt beside the other heart-broken watcher 
in the silence born of great pain. And in 
silence the soul of the brave-hearted girl 
passed away. She had exhausted her re- 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


227 


maining strength in exxhaining her mission 
to the young soldier, and having done so an 
exxu'ession of great content overspread her 
features. 

Once only did her eyes unclose. As in a 
mist, she saw the faces of those who stood 
around her. 

“Do not fret for me,” she said slowly. 
“ You have made me happy— always— and I 
have loved you — all.” 

Five minutes after. Colonel Fane carried 
his daughter from the room insensible. All 
was over; but the strain had been too great 
and Geraldine had fainted. 


228 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


CHAPTER XVIIL 

Five years later a party of four are seated 
on the terrace of a country-house in early 
summer. It is a sad anniversary for each 
one of them, but Time, the great healer, has 
spread his wings over their sorroAv and taken 
the sting from it which once threatened to 
wreck two lives, at least, out of the four. 
And yet in Geraldine’s face there is a great 
happiness, and as she turns to speak to the 
man at her side, it is easy to see that he is 
more to her than an ordinary friend. 

“Well, Cecil,” says Colonel Fane, who 
seems, by the way, little changed in out- 
ward aspect — “well, Cecil, I shall be glad 
when you and this little girl here are fairly 
settled. This day week will soon be here 
now; not much time, eh, Gerry?” 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


229 


Geraldine smiled and Cecil Graliam looked 
np. 

“ Quite enough, at any rate, colonel,” he 
said, with Geraldine’s hand in his own. For 
these two had come together at last, and 
another week was to see them made man 
and wife. 

For four years Captain Graham had wan- 
dered about the world, courting scenes of 
danger and carrying his life in his hand. 
His love for Dorothy had never faded, but 
he had learned to think of her without pain 
after a year or two, during which he had 
longed to die, too. And then, after four 
years, he had come home to fulfil the mission 
his dead love had committed to his care. 
With what result, too? Only to find that 
the Maurice who wooed and won Dorothy’s 
motlier in early days was none other but his 
own father. The story was a sad one. The 
two had never suited each other, and though 


230 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


they had lived together for a few years, they 
were never at one. So they agreed to sepa- 
rate. There were two children of the mar- 
]-iage, a boy and a girl. Mrs. Graham agreed 
to give up the former and keep her daugh- 
ter, under the condition that lier husband 
slionld never attempt to see either of them 
again. He agreed and they parted, Mrs. Gra- 
ham to resume her maiden name and live 
apart with her daughter, and her husband to 
bring np his son to believe that his mother 
was dead and never to seek her again. They 
kept the agreement, and it was only after his 
fatlier’s death that Cecil found out the truth. 
The girl he had loved so dearly was his own 
sister. 

Perhaps that fact helped him to get more 
reconciled to the cruel fate which had or- 
dained that hers should be but a brief life 
on earth. 

Then he had come to stay with the Fanes. 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 231 

Colonel Fane had retired soon after the ter- 
mination of the Ajpur rebellion, which ended 
in the maharajah being sentenced to impris- 
onment for life, the country being annexed, 
and the wily Lalup Singh killed in open fight 
endeavoring to resist the efforts of those sent 
to capture him. 

A disastrous ending to a storm in a teacup. 
Geraldine had made up her mind to die un- 
married. She never forgot Captain Graham, 
but she schooled herself to believe that hav- 
ing once loved her friend, he would never care 
for any other woman. But somehow, when 
he did come, the old love returned, the same, 
and yet surely better than it was at first, 
and Cecil Graham came to the conclusion 
that the future would look brighter if Geral- 
dine would consent to share it with him. So 
one summer’s day he aslced her whether she 
would be his wife. She knew all the past, he 
reasoned, and surely if she would consent 


232 


THE POWER OF AN EYE. 


to take him under the circumstances there 
Avould be little to fear in the future, and 
Geraldine said “ yes.” 

In after-years, when they grew to be old 
married people with their children growing 
up around them, they often si)oke of what 
Doi’othy had done. 

And in every year there came a day 
which was kept sacred from the ordinary 
routine of work or amusement, because it was 
the day on which a noble sacrifice had been 
made. 

And Geraldine’s children grew up to rever- 
ence the name and the memory of the girl 
who had thought nothing of her own life, but 
had given it to save those she loved from 
peril of death. 


THE END. 


THE 


POWER OF AN EYE 


BY 

MRS. FRANK ST. CLAIR GRIMWOOD 

AUTHOR OF 

“MY THREE YEARS IN MANIl'UR.” 


NEW YORK 

UNITED STATES BOOK COMPANY 

5 AND 7 East Sixteenth Street 


Chicago: 266 & 268 Wabash Avk. 













